Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that he would meet
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the end of June to see
whether there is any ground to resume peace negotiations, local
media reported on Thursday.
In an exclusive interview with local newspaper Yedioth
Ahronoth published on Thursday, Olmert said, "I plan to meet
with Abbas toward the end of June, after I meet with (Egyptian
President Hosni) Mubarak, (Jordanian King) Abdullah and European
leaders.
"However, Olmert added, "I won't concede the conditions to
holding negotiations, as it was established in the roadmap peace
plan and by the Quartet."
The Quartet, grouping key Mideast peace mediators of the United
States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia, has
demanded the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) which took power
in late March to renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to
exist and abide by previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements.
Under the internationally-backed roadmap plan, the Palestinians
are expected to dismantle militant groups while Israel should
freeze settlement expansion. Neither side has fulfilled the
commitment.
"I will meet Abbas to see if there is a chance to respect these
conditions. If there is, there will be talks. If not, we'll act
independently, but not alone. We will hold talks with the United
States and the European community and try to create momentum with
the other side, but not the Palestinian side," he added.
In addition, the prime minister also said that he wanted to
carry out possible more West Bank withdrawals in one major step. "I
want to clarify that I am opposed to dividing the realignment into
stages. This process will be difficult and painful even if it goes
smoothly. I think carrying it out in stages will traumatize the
public and I have mentioned before that I am opposed to this," he
said.
At the same time, Olmert also showed his determination to
implement the so-called realignment plan, saying "Nothing will stop
me...I hope that at the end of my term, the reality here will be
completely different."
Under the plan, known as the realignment or convergence plan,
Olmert intends to draw Israel's final borders with the Palestinians
by 2010 by evacuating isolated settlements in the West Bank while
keeping the major ones with or without peace talks with the
Palestinian side.
Olmert is scheduled to meet with leaders of Egypt, Jordan,
Britain, France and Germany later this month in an effort to win
support to his pullout plan.
Abbas, on his part, said that he was ready to talk with Olmert
during a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and
Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres on the sidelines of a regional
economic forum in Egypt last month.
But the outcome of the possible Olmert-Abbas meeting is
uncertain as some Israeli officials have considered Abbas as unable
to speak for the Palestinian now that Hamas, which calls for
Israel's destruct, assumes power.
(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2006)
