RAMALLAH, Nov 13: The Palestinian cabinet held its first meeting on Thursday as Israel announced that talks between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his new Palestinian counterpart, Ahmed Qorei, would take place within days.
Mr Qorei chaired the meeting of his 24-member cabinet in the West Bank town of Ramallah where ministers mapped out their strategy for the official resumption of talks with their Israeli opposite numbers for the first time in three months.
“We want a meeting which produces results. The meeting (with Sharon) in itself is not enough,” Mr Qorei told reporters after the cabinet session.
“The goal of the meeting is to obtain results which will ease the pressure on the Palestinians and offer peace prospects.”
Mr Qorei said no date had been set for the meeting.
But Israel’s Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said the first summit between the two premiers would take place in around 10 days time, although lower-level meetings would take place beforehand.
“This meeting between the prime minister (Sharon) and Abu Alaa (Qorei) will take place in around 10 days and will follow a series of meetings between other Israeli and Palestinian ministers,” Mr Shalom told military radio.
Israel froze official contacts with the Palestinians in mid-August after a massive suicide bomb, but Mr Sharon’s camp has indicated that it wants to give Ahmed Qorei a chance to impose his authority.
Mr Sharon has already issued orders to ease some of the restrictions on Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip while aides have said the army will hold off large-scale operations in the territories for the time being.
Mr Qorei said in a speech to parliament on Wednesday when his government was sworn in that he wanted a ceasefire with Israel and called for an end to attacks on civilians.
OPINION POLL: The findings of a new poll released on Thursday showed that two-thirds of Palestinians support a ceasefire with Israel.
The survey carried out by the Palestinian Centre for Public Opinion said 35 percent of Palestinians “strongly support” a ceasefire, 31 percent “somewhat support” it, while 29 percent oppose it and four percent did not express an opinion.
The Beit Sahur-based institute revealed that more Palestinians (45 percent) favour putting an end to the intifada than those who prefer to see it continued (43 percent).
Ariel Sharon’s government has consistently said Mr Qorei’s government must tackle the armed Palestinian factions such as Hamas which have carried out hundreds of deadly attacks against Israel over the last three years.
Asked about the prospects of progress in talks between the two premiers, Mr Shalom said it would depend on “the seriousness of the Palestinian government”.
“If Abu Alaa decides to present a plan to dismantle the terrorist organizations, even in stages, he will find in Israel partners willing to travel the long road with him,” added Mr Shalom.
‘GENEVA INITIATIVE’: The backers of the “Geneva Initiative” began a publicity drive in Israel on Thursday to whip up support for the alternative peace plan, placing advertisements in major newspapers.
The advertisements informed readers that the full text of the document would be mailed to every Israeli household next week.
Mr Sharon has called the project, due to be formally unveiled in Switzerland on Dec 1, an “illusion” and insists that the internationally-backed roadmap is the only hope of reaching peace with the Palestinians.—AFP