Olmert agrees to talk with Abbas

This is a good sign although Olmert seems to not be willing to talk about peace terms until his preconditions are met. Perhaps the Arab peace plan has a chance although Rice is certainly wise not to build up too much hope for any rapid progress.


U.S. official: Olmert agrees to resume open-ended talks with Abbas

By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service and Agencies

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed Monday to resume open-ended, face-to-face talks with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in a possible step toward restarting substantive peace talks, a U.S. official said.

Olmert met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for the second time in as many days late Monday evening.

Olmert and Abbas will initially hold low-key confidence-building sessions, the official said. Israel has refused substantive talks since Abbas joined Hamas militants in a coalition government this month.




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The talks between the Palestinian and Israeli leaders will be open to all issues, said the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of a planned press conference by Rice on Tuesday.

Olmert's agreement to new talks was a small step, since he had held such sessions with Abbas before the Hamas deal, but it still was seen as a sign of fresh and surprising progress toward peace talks.

When Abbas and Hamas formed their coalition government last week, Olmert said he would talk about humanitarian and other concerns if need be, but he ruled out more detailed discussions or negotiations.

Rice said Monday that she has no intention of taking over the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, saying Washington is helping the sides examine political issues as well as issues related to daily life.

"I don't intend by any means to take control of the Israeli-Palestinian bilateral dialogue," said Rice. "I think it is very important."

Rice made the comments following a meeting with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem.

On Sunday, Rice said that the U.S. is planning to hold separate talks with Israel and the PA aimed at achieving an accord that will lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The secretary of state will hold a press conference Tuesday morning in which she will make a statement summarizing her two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The press conference was to be held Monday evening, but was delayed by Rice earlier in the day. Rice is expected to announce the beginning of talks on the creation of a Palestinian state.

The secretary of state will then depart for Saudi Arabia ahead of the Arab League summit in Riyadh, in which Arab leaders are expected to re-launch the 2002 Saudi peace initiative.

Olmert, however, said Monday that he is not familiar with any new suggestions for negotiations with the Palestinians.

Speaking at a joint press conference with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Jerusalem, Olmert said that he maintains ongoing contact with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and that the basis for any new negotiations would be the road map.

Olmert said he would continue his contacts with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas without interruption, but said he had no plans for a major Mideast summit.

"I want to remind you that there is constant contact between the Palestinian president and me, and this will continue without interruption in the future," the prime minister said. However, he denied press reports that a major summit is in the works.

Ban: I have a better appreciation for Israel's security concerns

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon toured Israel from the air on Monday, winding up his first visit since taking office.

The Israel Defense Forces took Ban on a helicopter ride around Israel and the West Bank, in an effort to give him a feel for the close quarters and security challenges.

"Having gone through some parts of Israel by helicopter today, I came to better appreciate the security concerns facing Israel," he said. "At the same time I am deeply troubled by the network of checkpoints, growth of settlements and the barrier where it appears on Palestinian lands."

At a news conference on Monday, Ban urged Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace negotiations, calling Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas a genuine partner for peace.

He said that in his talks in the West Bank, "I impressed upon the Palestinian leadership the vital importance of tackling the security situation, ending violence in all its dimensions and, above all, securing the early release of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas-linked militants in June."

Ban was hopeful about prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. "I believe we can and must make progress in the coming days and months," he said.

Ban has internal consultations scheduled for Tuesday morning before leaving.

Rice: U.S. to hold separate talks with Israel, PA

Rice said Sunday night that the U.S. will hold separate negotiations with the two sides, present questions and request clarifications regarding their positions, in an effort to reach an agreed-upon agenda for the renewal of peace talks.

Rice is planning to present the two sides with questions on two main issues: territory and security.

According to Rice, it is possible to learn from the experience that has accumulated since the end of negotiations in 2000, particularly with regard to security arrangements. She pointed to the management of the border crossings at Karni and Rafah in the Gaza Strip as examples that should be studied closely.

The secretary of state also said that she intends to request clarifications from Israel as to how it intends to implement the vision of a territorially contiguous Palestinian state in the West Bank.

Rice arrived in Israel on Sunday and dined with Olmert at his home in Jerusalem. Earlier she visited Ramallah and met with Abbas, whom she met again Monday morning in Jordan.

Speaking to U.S. reporters before dining with Olmert, Rice acknowledged her approach was cautious and said the chances for quick dramatic progress were low.

"My approach has been, I admit, careful. It's been step by step. I have not been willing to try for the big bang. I don't think that that's where we are," she said.

"The question here isn't speed. The question is trying to really move forward toward the establishment of a Palestinian state."

Her meeting with Olmert lasted approximately three hours, Israel Radio reported. Rice is scheduled to meet Monday with Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

The Israeli political team held talks with Rice's aides Sunday in an effort to soften the statement.

Israel would like to avoid formulations that will be binding in a final agreement or which deal with issues of serious dispute (most likely, Jerusalem and the refugees).

Rice told reporters Sunday that her earlier visit to the region, five weeks ago, and her tripartite meeting with Abbas and Olmert in Jerusalem took place with the Mecca agreement for the establishment of a Palestinian national unity government as the background.

Unlike that meeting, which Rice hinted had taken place because it had already been scheduled, this visit aims to jump-start a separate negotiation process.

Rice said that she sat for many hours with U.S. President George W. Bush in order to formulate a diplomatic strategy, and that she does not exclude the possibility that a special envoy will be appointed for talks with the two sides.

Arab Summit meets to endors Mid-East Peace Plan

This is at least a hopeful sign but unless Israel agrees to talk to the Palestine coalition government it is hard to see that it can get very far. At least the US is talking to Abbas still and Arab states are taking some positive steps.


Arabs head to Saudi summit to endorse Mideast peace
Tue Mar 27, 2007 6:36PM BST



By Wafa Amr

RIYADH, March 27 (Reuters) - Arab leaders arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday ahead of a summit set to revive a five-year-old plan to end decades of Israeli-Arab conflict at the heart of the region's problems.

The two-day Arab summit, due to open on Wednesday, is expected to renew an offer to the Jewish state of normal ties with all Arab countries if it withdraws from all territories it occupied in the 1967 war, accepts the creation of a Palestinian state and agrees to a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged Israel to seize on the Arab offer, describing it as a last chance for Israel to live in a "sea of peace" across the Arab and Islamic world.

"This initiative simply says to Israel 'leave the occupied territories and you will live in a sea of peace that begins in Nouakchott and ends in Indonesia'," Abbas said, referring to the Mauritanian capital in West Africa and the southeast Asian country that is the Muslim world's most populous.

"If this initiative is destroyed, I don't believe there will be another opportunity in the future like this."

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said on Monday the plan will have a strong chance of winning international support and of reviving Israeli-Arab peace talks if adopted unanimously by all Arab leaders at the March 28-29 summit.

The meeting will also tackle other crises, including the Iraq conflict that has divided Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims across the region and a political standoff between the Western-backed government and the pro-Iranian opposition in Lebanon.

Fears are also high among Sunni leaders that any U.S.-led attack on Iran, which has refused to comply with U.N. demands to halt atomic work, could further destabilise their region.

But draft resolutions, hammered out on Monday, are dominated by the Arab-Israeli conflict and appear designed to entice Israel into talks without altering the text of the peace plan.

The draft text obtained by Reuters calls on "all Israelis to accept the initiative and seize the current opportunity to return to direct and serious negotiating process at all levels."



'NO CONCESSIONS ON REFUGEES'

Israel has objected to some parts of the plan, including the proposed return to the 1967 borders, the inclusion of Arab East Jerusalem in a Palestinian state and demands for the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes in what is now Israel.

The Islamist movement Hamas, which heads the Palestinian government, also has some reservations about the text.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal was quoted by Saudi media as urging Arab leaders not to make concessions on the demand for the Palestinian refugees to return home.

Hamas demands a right to return for all Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war. It has refused to recognise Israel, but Palestinian officials say it has agreed not to go against the peace plan.

The final draft avoids any mention of the phrase "right of return" for Palestinian refugees but calls for a just solution to the problem.

It also sets up a mechanism to promote the peace plan that could pave the way for Arab countries with no ties to Israel, including Saudi Arabia, to open channels of communications with the Jewish state -- a long-time goal of U.S. administrations.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Arab states needed to reach out to Israel in "active diplomacy".

"The Arab states should begin reaching out to Israel to reassure Israel that its place in the region will be more -- not less -- secure by an end to the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state," she told a news Jerusalem conference.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who will attend the summit, said on Monday that Israeli and Palestinian leaders, along with officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, could be invited to attend the next Quartet meeting, expected to take place in Egypt.

The "Quartet" of the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia has been responsible for steering peace talks.

The Arab summit will also encourage the international community to end a political and financial embargo on the Hamas-led Palestinian unity government. (Additional reporting by Andrew Hammond)






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