Beilin and Abbas Meet to Discuss Peace Deal
7/26/2007
By Barak Ravid, Yoav Stern and Shahar Ilan, Haaretz Correspondents and News Agencies
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday he
hopes to reach a peace deal with Israel within a year, after reportedly
receiving a promise from U.S. President George W. Bush that he would push hard
to complete a Mideast peace agreement before the end of his term in
2008.
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Head of the Meretz Party Yossi Beilin speaking with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Thursday. (AP) |
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert intends to start by formulating a
declaration of principles with Abbas on the contours of a Palestinian state in
Gaza and most of the West Bank, Olmert's aides said Thursday, confirming an
earlier Haaretz report.
However, such a declaration would likely sidestep the most explosive issues, such as final borders, an arrangement for Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
Abbas told Meretz Chairman Yossi Beilin during their meeting in Ramallah Thursday that the Palestinian Authority is prepared to achieve a final status settlement with Israel by next fall, when an international Mideast peace conference is scheduled to take place. He said that an agreement of principles, such as that which Olmert intends to formulate, would not be satisfactory.
Abbas also told Beilin that he does not intend to run for another term as chairman of the Palestinian Authority when his current term ends in 18 months at the latest.
Beilin said at the meeting that any agreement signed between Israel and the Palestinians while Hamas is forcibly controlling the Gaza Strip, would only be implemented in the West Bank, where Hamas has no power.
The militant Hamas party overcame Abbas' Fatah faction in the Gaza Strip last month, violently seizing control of the coastal territory.
Beilin added that only a fundamental change in Hamas' policy would enable Israel and the Palestinians to implement a peace deal in Gaza as well.
Beilin also met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad, who told the leftist lawmaker that the belief that the West Bank can be turned into a heaven, and Gaza can be turned into a hell, will eventually cause a disaster.
However, such a declaration would likely sidestep the most explosive issues, such as final borders, an arrangement for Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
Abbas told Meretz Chairman Yossi Beilin during their meeting in Ramallah Thursday that the Palestinian Authority is prepared to achieve a final status settlement with Israel by next fall, when an international Mideast peace conference is scheduled to take place. He said that an agreement of principles, such as that which Olmert intends to formulate, would not be satisfactory.
Abbas also told Beilin that he does not intend to run for another term as chairman of the Palestinian Authority when his current term ends in 18 months at the latest.
Beilin said at the meeting that any agreement signed between Israel and the Palestinians while Hamas is forcibly controlling the Gaza Strip, would only be implemented in the West Bank, where Hamas has no power.
The militant Hamas party overcame Abbas' Fatah faction in the Gaza Strip last month, violently seizing control of the coastal territory.
Beilin added that only a fundamental change in Hamas' policy would enable Israel and the Palestinians to implement a peace deal in Gaza as well.
Beilin also met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad, who told the leftist lawmaker that the belief that the West Bank can be turned into a heaven, and Gaza can be turned into a hell, will eventually cause a disaster.