Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday he would not resume peace talks with Israel until the Jewish state reached a truce in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, complicating the latest peace mission by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Abbas' statement essentially ordered Israel to work out an arrangement with Hamas, the Islamic militant group that violently seized control of Gaza from Abbas' forces last June. Israel and the U.S. consider Hamas a terrorist group, and Israel has killed more than 120 Palestinians in fighting with Hamas militants over the past week.
Although Abbas is locked in a bitter rivalry with Hamas, he suspended the U.S.-backed peace talks this week to protest the Israeli crackdown in Gaza. Speaking to reporters at his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah, he said negotiations could not resume until the fighting ended.
"The negotiations must be started, but after the truce," Abbas said. "Once the truce is achieved the road will be open for negotiations."
Abbas said Rice had informed him she was sending an envoy to Egypt, which often mediates between Israel and Hamas. "There are real efforts being exerted by Egypt for a truce," he said.
He did not mention Hamas by name, but his aides said the Islamic group must clearly be part of a deal. The aides, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said Abbas has proposed a deal in which Hamas would halt its incessant rocket attacks on southern Israel, if Israeli ended its military operation against Palestinian militants and eased an economic blockade of Gaza.
Israeli officials have refused to open a dialogue with Hamas, which is pledged to Israel's destruction, saying the group would use any lull to rearm. During the latest fighting, Hamas fired rockets deeper into Israel than ever before.
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev declined to discuss the parameters of any possible deal but suggested Israel could be open to a cease-fire. "If they were not shooting at our civilian population, we would not have to respond," he said.
The spike in violence is the latest obstacle to the U.S.-backed peace process, which aims to forge a final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians by the end of the year.
Even before the fighting, the Palestinians had accused Israel of moving too slowly and undermining talks with continued settlement activity on lands they claim for a future state. Israel, meanwhile, says a peace agreement can't be carried out until Abbas regains control of Gaza. Hamas violently wrested control of the territory in June.
Rice was meeting Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on Wednesday, hoping to persuade them to resume the talks. But it appeared unlikely she would succeed.
Ahmed Qureia, the chief Palestinian negotiator, told The Associated Press he had informed Rice that talks would resume "when the atmosphere on the ground is right for productive and meaningful negotiations, but the atmosphere on the ground ... makes it difficult for the negotiations to be productive."
A day earlier, Abbas pointedly resisted Rice's pressure to return to the negotiating table, saying at a joint news conference that Israel first had to "halt its aggression."
Rice said that negotiations between moderate Palestinians and the Israelis are the only solution. At the same time, she defended Israel's right to seek out militants who use Gaza to launch rockets at southern Israel.
"I understand the difficulties of the current moment," she said. "We all must keep an eye on what is important."
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday convened his Security Cabinet to discuss the Gaza situation. In a statement, Olmert's office said the officials had pledged to stop the rocket fire and weaken Hamas, and promised to advance the peace talks "while allowing the freedom of operation in combatting terror."
Rice met with Olmert late Tuesday and had meetings scheduled with Israel's foreign and defense ministers Wednesday before departing for Europe.
In Washington, President Bush said he remains optimistic.
With only 10 months left in his presidency, Bush said Tuesday he still believes there is "plenty of time" to get a Mideast peace deal before his term ends.
"This is a process that always takes two steps forward and one step back," Bush said after meeting at the White House with Jordan's King Abdullah II. "We just need to make sure that it's just one step back."
____
Associated Press correspondent Mohammed Daraghmeh contributed to this article from Ramallah.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий