Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to fly off to the United States Wednesday where his foreign and defence ministers, Shimon Peres and Binyamin Ben Eliezer, are already holding talks.
According to Israeli press reports, Sharon will ask American officials during his visit to continue their heavy pressure on Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
Sharon will ask the administration to pressure Arafat in order to persuade him to alter his behavior, or else the Palestinian leader will lose his international legitimacy and be replaced by an alternative leadership, say the Israeli reports.
Senior American officials expressed hope this week for progress in security talks held as part of the joint Israeli, PA and American committee. They also welcomed recent contacts Sharon has held with top PA officials.
American sources told Israel Radio that they expect Sharon to present new ideas that will allow for the resumption of diplomatic contacts between Israel and the Palestinians.
Putin
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Sharon on Tuesday to resume dialogue with Arafat, according to the Russian Presidential Press service.
Sharon, however, insisted that only continued pressure on and isolation of Yasser Arafat is likely to press the Palestinian Authority to crack down on terrorist organizations operating from within its territory, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.
Putin and Sharon exchanged their views regarding the developing situation in the Middle East during a phone conversation held on Tuesday.
The Kremlin said Putin stressed that political dialogue between the Israeli government and the Palestinian administration, mainly Arafat, must continue.
Additionally, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Natan Sharansky met Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on the final day of his two-day visit to Russia. They also discussed the situation in the Middle East.
Arafat Meets Mubarak Envoy
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak sent the intelligence head, Omar Suleiman, Tuesday to meet with Arafat in Ramallah.
MENA, quoting Mubarak's remarks to an assembly of students in the October 6 desert suburb of Cairo, said "I'm sending someone today to meet with Abu Amar (Arafat's nom de guerre)," the president was quoted as saying. "They will meet (shortly) to discuss ways to give Israel a chance to move in the right direction."
Rockets
Fatah’s Al Aqsa Brigades claimed Tuesday evening that it had fired "Aqsa 1" and "Aqsa 2" rockets at the Gush Katif settlement of Netzer Hazani in the Gaza Strip. This was the first time that this group has claimed to fire such rockets. The announcement about the rockets was broadcast on the Lebanese Resistance party Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station.
The makeshift rockets are the group's version of the "Kassam 2" rocket, which was developed by Hamas. The Brigades claims that the rocket has a range of 15 kilometers and that it will be used as a means of deterrence against israel. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
