WEST BANK/GAZA: U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE WILLIAM BURNS HAS MET WITH PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER MAHMOUD ABBAS TO PREPARE FOR A MIDDLE EAST PEACE SUMMIT

Record ID: 223076

  • Title: WEST BANK/GAZA: U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE WILLIAM BURNS HAS MET WITH PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER MAHMOUD ABBAS TO PREPARE FOR A MIDDLE EAST PEACE SUMMIT
  • Date: 30th May 2003
  • Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (MAY 31, 2003) (REUTERS) SV U.S ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE AND ENVOY TO MIDDLE EAST WILLIAM BURNS COMING OUT OF MEETING WITH PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER MAHMOUD ABBAS AND HEADING FOR MEETING WITH PALESTINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER NABIL SHAATH
  • Embargoed: 14th June 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: RAMALLAH, KALANDIYA AND BETHLEHEM CHECKPOINTS, WEST BANK / GAZA AND RAFAH, GAZA
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAAO1EY2JL8ZA42PTA89V6OT8WG
  • Story Text: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns has met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to prepare for a Middle East peace summit.
    In a separate development, Israel offered to withdraw from some of the Palestinian areas it reoccupied in the summer of 2002 and to allow some 20,000 Palestinian labourers into Israel.
    An envoy of U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday (May 31) met with Palestinian leaders to prepare the ground for a Middle East peace summit, as violence claimed three more Palestinian lives.
    U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas ahead of Bush's June 4 summit with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to push forward a U.S.-backed "road map" to peace.
    Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, who attended Saturday's meeting, said Burns was helping the two sides hammer out a statement that would conclude the summit in Aqaba, Jordan. Shaath said Israel was expected in return to stop violence against Palestinians and release prisoners.
    The Palestinian cabinet convened for i's weekly meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
    On Friday, Abbas told Israeli television he expected militants spearheading the 32-month-old Palestinian uprising to agree to halt attacks on Israelis within three weeks.
    "So far we did not reach an agreement but we will complete (contacts) days after the Sharm al-Sheikh and Aqaba summits.
    The period won't exceed three weeks and I think that we will have a full agreement (with Palestinian factions)," Abbas said.
    Abbas also told Israel television on Friday that Palestinian security forces would be ready within three weeks to take Israel up on its offer to hand over parts of the West Bank and Gaza to Palestinian control.
    Bush, on a visit to Poland, called Abbas's commitment to ending violence a "hopeful sign for peace in the Middle East".
    However, it was not immediately clear if the truce deal would satisfy Israel, which wants Abbas to crush militants.
    Palestinians fear a harsh crackdown could spark a civil war. They also argue that their security forces have been weakened by Israeli army sweeps, making the task more difficult.
    Abdel-Aziz Rantisi, a top leader of the Islamic militant Hamas group behind many bombings that has killed scores of Israelis since the start of the uprising, said Hamas was still discussing the ceasefire proposal. Hamas wants Israel to agree to stop attacks on Palestinians in return.
    "After the last meeting with Abu Mazen we are still at the level of Hamas leaders discussing the situation, and I hope that in coming days, Hamas will achieve an internal common view and it will be ready then and we can meet with Abu Mazen to tell him about that."
    Israel has offered to withdraw from some of the Palestinian areas it reoccupied in the summer of 2002 after a spate of suicide attacks, turning them into a proving ground for a Palestinian crackdown on militants.
    No concrete moves towards peace are expected before the June 4 summit, although Israel radio said strict restrictions on Palestinian entry into Israel could be lifted to allow some 20,000 Palestinian labourers into Israel by Sunday.
    Israel has also offered to withdraw from some of the Palestinian areas it reoccupied in the summer of 2002 after a spate of suicide attacks, turning them into a proving ground for a Palestinian crackdown on militants.
    Israel radio said strict restrictions on Palestinian entry into Israel night be lifted to allow some 20,000 Palestinian labourers into Israel by Sunday (June 1). The radio said Israel will gradually ease the closure on the West Bank.
    On Saturday (May 31) Palestinians were still waiting in the Bethlehem and Kalandiya checkpoints to pass through to Israel in long lines.
    In new violence, Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian near the West Bank town of Jenin. The army said he was killed as he laid an explosive charge. Palestinian witnesses said soldiers fired on two students on their way to college, killing one.
    Two other Palestinians died on Saturday of wounds sustained in clashes over the past week, Palestinian medics said.
    Meanwhile in Rafah, Israeli army troops demolished a building, saying it housed a tunnel used to smuggle weapons, although Palestinians denied the claims.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register