Chilling hopes for progress on Mideast peace, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Saturday canceled a planned trip to the US this month, during which he was expected to meet President George W. Bush, said reports.
Sharon and Bush had scheduled a tentative meeting for Nov. 11 during the UN General Assembly's annual debate in New York, according to AP.
But the Israeli leader decided to postpone his trip to the United States, as well as one to Britain, because of the security situation in the region, Sharon spokesman David Baker said Saturday. No new date was set, added the agency.
The US has been pressuring Israel to withdraw from parts of several West Bank towns it re-occupied after a cabinet minister was assassinated outside his Jerusalem hotel room Oct. 17. Israeli forces withdrew from Bethlehem and the nearby town of Beit Jalla last week, but continue to occupy other areas ostensibly under Palestinian authority.
Although Sharon backed away from the meeting with Bush, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met Saturday with Arafat on the sidelines of an economic conference on the Spanish resort island of Mallorca.
According to AP, Peres said withdrawals could begin from other West Bank towns as soon as early next week, provided a ceasefire holds.
FIGHTING CONTINUES IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Meanwhile, Israeli tanks fired shells and heavy machineguns at security outposts in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing a major in the Palestinian security forces at Deir El Ballah, south of Gaza City, Palestinian police and hospital officials told AP.
Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians in a two-day period last week, prompting widespread outrage even as Sharon declared a willingness to negotiate.
The Israeli army said it opened fire after shots were fired from Deir El Ballah toward the isolated Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom.
Peres last week announced his view that some of the more isolated Israeli settlements, which have been illegally erected on Palestinian land conquered in 1967, should be removed. None of the settlements are considered legal under international law, and The Economist has said that Israel has "flouted" the 1993 Oslo accords with its ongoing settlement activity.
Over 700 Palestinians and more than 190 Israelis have been killed in the latest uprising against 34 years of Israeli military occupation, according to AFP.
Sharon, who came into office promising to achieve security for ordinary Israelis within a short period of time, recently told the inner leadership of his Likud Party that the country must prepare for a long, drawn-out battle.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Israelis gathered Saturday in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square for a concert marking the sixth anniversary of the assassination of former premier Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli opposed to a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
