Olmert, Abbas to discuss help for WBank govt

By Staff
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Jerusalem, July 16: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet in Jerusalem today to discuss Israel's plans to help bolster Abbas's new government in the West Bank, officials said.

Yesterday Israel agreed to stop hunting 180 wanted Fatah militants who were asked to pledge to end attacks against the Jewish state.

Olmert and Abbas are expected to discuss the amnesty and other Israeli gestures, Israeli officials said.

Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel-Razzak Yahya said in Ramallah on Sunday night that Abbas would present Olmert with a list signed by the 180 militants the Jewish state has said it would amnesty after they agreed to stop attacks against Israel.

Washington wants Olmert to jumpstart long-stalled peace talks through Abbas after Hamas's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last month. But Israel has so far balked at discussing final status issues such as the fate of Jerusalem, borders and Palestinian refugees.

In addition to the reprieve for Fatah militants, Israel said it agreed to Abbas's request to allow Nayef Hawatmeh, the Damascus-based leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and Farouk Kaddoumi, an exiled hardliner living in Tunis, to enter the occupied West Bank.

Abbas has also requested permission to bring into the West Bank weapons and military vehicles and the so-called Badr Brigade, a Fatah force based in Jordan, to bolster security.

Olmert has also said he will ease travel restrictions on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank but he has met with opposition to the move from officials who say that lifting roadblocks and checkpoints will compromise Israel's safety.

Israeli government officials have said their goal is to strengthen Abbas and the government he formed last month in the West Bank to replace a cabinet led by Hamas Islamists who won 2006 elections.

Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin said Israel would on Monday give Abbas a final list of 250 prisoners who will be released from Israeli jails. She said all 250 have at least a year left on their sentences. Of the prisoners, 85 percent are Fatah members and the rest are from other non-Islamist factions.

Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader in Gaza who still considers himself prime minister, decried what he called "political bribes" aimed at increasing internal divisions.

Salam Fayyad, whom Abbas named prime minister last month, has pledged to crack down on militants in the West Bank but said success hinged on Israel agreeing to stop hunting the gunmen.

Abbas asked Israel to let Hawatmeh and Kaddoumi into the West Bank so they could attend a meeting on Wednesday of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's Legislative Council, which functions as an internal parliament.

Hawatmeh's DFLP has not carried out attacks against Israel in several years.

Reuters

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