Translated material
Conversation in private
Olmert and Abbas met in Jerusalem
Yesterday evening in Jerusalem there was a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the head of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). This was their third meeting in the last four months, this time the negotiations took place face to face. Olmert and Abbas communicated on February 19 and December 23 through the mediation of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice . The head of the American foreign policy department is going to travel to the Middle East at the end of March, and then a new meeting between Olmert and Abbas could take place.A significant result of the negotiations was the agreement of the Israeli Prime Minister to extend the opening hours of the Karni checkpoint, located on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Fearing attacks by Palestinian militants in the area, Israel has repeatedly closed the crossing, which is the only route for Palestinian goods from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank.
During the negotiations, Mahmoud Abbas introduced the Israeli prime minister to the composition of the new Palestinian government. It is expected that this week Abu Mazen will officially announce the composition of the government of national unity, which will include members of the Islamic radical group Hamas, the moderate Fatah party and independent candidates. In addition, the head of the PNA demanded that Olmert stop the operations of the Israeli army in the West Bank and transfer the situation in the autonomy under the full control of the Palestinian security forces. Abbas's main goal was to expand the range of issues discussed in order to prevent Olmert from reducing the negotiations solely to discussing the fulfillment by the new Palestinian government of the demands of the Middle East Quartet (EU, US, UN and Russia).
Olmert had his own questions for his Palestinian interlocutor. In particular, he demanded from Abbas an account of the $100 million spent, which Israel transferred to the needs of the Palestinian Authority at the end of December. According to Israeli media reports, this money went to Hamas members, despite the fact that Abbas had previously promised Olmert that the funds would go exclusively to help the civilian population of the autonomy.
Israel does not expect a breakthrough in relations with the Palestinians any time soon. As an employee of the Israeli Foreign Ministry told Vremya Novostei, “Israel is very disappointed with the policy pursued by Mahmoud Abbas. With the support he received from the entire world community, he could have achieved much more within the Palestinian Authority. Nevertheless, Abbas is trying to sit on two chairs at the same time, maintaining good relations with both Hamas and Israel. Olmert is forced to negotiate with Abu Mazen only because, apart from him, the Israelis in the Palestinian Authority today have no partner for dialogue.” Israel remains determined to boycott the Palestinian government if its members refuse to recognize the Jewish state, stop violence and comply with the Quartet's demands.
While Olmert and Abbas are trying to maintain the appearance of a peace process, unrest continues within the autonomy itself. Yesterday in the Gaza Strip, during fierce firefights, one of the leaders of the Izeddin al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of the radical Hamas group ruling in the autonomy), Muhammad Kafarna, was shot dead. He became the first casualty of clashes since a truce agreement was signed between Fatah and Hamas in Mecca in mid-February.