TEL AVIV, July 9: Hopes rose on Tuesday for fresh talks between Israel and the Palestinians as top Israeli dove Shimon Peres said his meetings with new Palestinian ministers went well, despite renewed violence in the West Bank and Al Quds.
An Islamic Jihad leader was killed in a raid blamed by the group on the Israeli army in the northern West Bank, while in the eastern sector of Al Quds a Palestinian shot and seriously injured an Israeli policeman, while an Arab bystander was killed in a subsequent shootout.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said his talks here with the new Palestinian interior minister, General Abdel Razaq al-Yahiya, were “good”, while chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said a new and larger meeting was to be held in the coming days.
“We talked about everything. The Palestinian side asked the Israelis to withdraw from Palestinian cities and territories and finish the siege and closure, stop settlement activities and the aggressive policy of killing, assassinations and siege.
“The Israeli side talked about security issues,” said Erakat, who accompanied the new interior minister.
And on Monday, Peres met newly appointed Palestinian finance minister Salam Fayad for the first high-level talks between the two sides in more than two months.
Arafat was persuaded by both domestic and international pressure to overhaul his Palestinian Authority, accused of corruption and aiding militant groups.
In Copenhagen, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said UN chief Kofi Annan and the US, EU and Russian foreign ministers would meet next week to discuss the regional situation, as part of the so-called Middle East Quartet.
As diplomatic efforts to break the deadlock swung into motion, US President George W. Bush said he discerned signs of progress in the Palestinian reforms.
“I believe some progress is being made towards the institutions that I have talked about that are necessary for a Palestinian state to emerge which will give us all confidence in its ability to fight off terrorist activities,” he said late Monday.
The president said it was important for Palestinian institutions to emerge to ensure that foreign aid was properly spent and that a valid judicial system could develop.
In a key speech on the Middle East last month, Bush subscribed to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s line that an alternative Palestinian leadership should step forward to replace Arafat.—AFP
