Talks among Tanzim-Fatah representatives - and perhaps Hamas operatives as well - resumed over the weekend, with the aim of halting attacks in Israel, senior Palestinian officials have told Israel’s opposition leader, Yossi Sarid.
The talks, sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the European Union, have resumed despite the killing of Hamas military wing leader, Salah Shehadeh and at least 14 civilians in the Israeli attack in Gaza last week.
The talks reportedly involve Palestinian preventative security chief Mohammed Dahlan and his men in Gaza, Hussein al-Sheikh and other Tanzim operatives in the West Bank, and Sheikh Hassan Yousouf of Hamas in the West Bank, Haaretz reported.
Before the raid in Gaza, Fatah had announced that it would be ready to reduce the number of attacks and maybe even stop them altogether. Before the attack, there were attempts to convince Hamas to stop its operations as well, but now Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine insist that they have a right to launch attacks inside Israel.
Meanwhile, a senior Palestinian official said on Saturday the United States had invited senior Palestinian cabinet ministers to Washington for talks with top officials there early next month. It would be the most senior contact between the U.S. administration and Palestinian Authority officials since U.S. President Bush called last month for Yasser Arafat to be sidelined as Palestinian leader.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell confirmed he would meet a Palestinian delegation in Washington to discuss security reforms. Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, Powell said the meeting would take place on his return from an eight-nation Asian tour.
"I will be discussing with them security transformation, the work of the task force we announced in New York," said Powell, who is currently in South Asia in a bid to reduce military tensions between India and Pakistan. "This is all consistent with the plan President (George W.) Bush has laid out for the transformation of the Palestinian community."
Palestinian cabinet minister and senior negotiator Saeb Erekat said the delegation would include himself and new Interior Minister Abdel Razzak al Yaha, who is in charge of the Palestinian security forces.
The talks would take place on August 5 and 6, Erekat told Reuters. Palestinian Trade Minister Maher al-Masri would also be in the delegation, he said.
In a related development, Yasser Arafat has given the Palestinian talks team a green light to resume talks with Israeli representatives on civilian, security-related and political issues, a senior source in Arafat's headquarters said Saturday night. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
