Ayoon wa Azan (A Heated Meeting)

Jihad Al Khazen     Al-Hayat     2003/07/23

The Palestinian Premier Mahmoud Abbas described his fourth meeting with the Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon two days ago as heated. He told me: "I will tell you the truth, there are no immediate results, but rather a bit of twisting from the Israeli side."

According to Abbas, the Israelis don't seem to understand the scope of his government's actions, adding "we have made it very clear and we want quick answers, in the next four to five days."

I had phoned Abbas and found him on his way to Amman after his meeting with Sharon. He had went to Cairo to meet President Mubarak, before going to Amman to meet King Abdullah. Today, Wednesday, Abbas is heading to the U.S. to meet National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice tomorrow and President Bush the day after, on Friday.

The Palestinian Premier's talks in Washington will be the most important and could decide the fate of the current truce, especially since Sharon will be meeting the U.S. President next Tuesday.

Abbas told me that the entire meeting with Sharon was "a little bit heated," and the case of Arafat was "very hot," as were the issues of detainees, the settlements and the security wall. There were many other points, such as the Haram Al Sharif, the Haram Al Ibrahimi, as well as the checkpoints and roadblock; however, the issue of detainees was the most important.

There are 5,800 Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and maybe more. Among them, there are around 1,800 administrative prisoners and Israel is saying that it will release "hundreds" of Palestinian prisoners, but that it won't release those prisoners "who have blood on their hands," which would mean that half of them will remain detained. Sharon had announced at the beginning that he would refuse to release Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners. Both groups threatened to end the truce if their detainees are not released, and Sharon backed out on his position.

I asked Abbas about this issue, and he said that his government insists on the release of prisoners from all groups. He said his government is demanding the release of 430 prisoners, as a first batch, while Israel is suggesting 350 prisoners. This means that the release won't take place before the end of the month, after each of Sharon and Abbas meet President Bush. This means that if the release takes place, it will be by the end of the month. There is a bilateral committee to follow up on this matter.

Abbas doubts that the Israelis will admit that the security situation improved in those areas where the Israeli troops withdrew from, in the North of Gaza and Bethlehem. Even though the level of provocation has diminished, the Israelis are still not reacting to the on-the-ground results, and are talking instead "about things I cannot rely upon, and so I'd rather wait for the results. "

The Palestinian side wants the construction of the wall to stop, so do the Americans. However, Sharon's government insists on pursuing the construction on Palestinian land. The Palestinians have also demanded that the Israelis withdraw from other Palestinian cities such as Jenin, Nablus and Ramallah, but Abbas told the Israelis very clearly that if the withdrawal will be like the withdrawal from Bethlehem, then his government doesn't want it, because this would mean that the troops withdraw from the center of the city, while maintaining under siege. That is why the Palestinians want the withdrawal to be accompanied by a reduction in the number of checkpoints and facilitations for citizens' movement.

Abbas will ask for greater financial aid from the Americans to alleviate the people's sufferings and convince them that the truce is an advantage for them.

The truth is that success or failure depends on the American position, because Sharon is still not removing the obstacles to the Roadmap; on the contrary, he is increasing them. He responded to the ceasefire announcement by Hamas and Islamic Jihad by calling for their disarmament, even though it is impossible to make this happen without triggering a Palestinian civil war, which neither of Abbas, Mohammed Dahlan or any other official is willing to risk.

Mohammed Dahlan called me a day before the meeting with Sharon, to answer a call I gave him. He talked about the detainees' issue and said that the Israelis "did not yet understand that to us, it is a matter of life or death, and we want them to release all prisoners without exceptions."

He also deplored the situation that the Israelis left behind in Gaza and described it as the day after a nuclear war, saying "we now have to start from scratch, from zero, or even under zero."

The number one Palestinian security official told me about attacks of Hamas partisans on offices of the Palestinian police and the National Authority. But he added that they were committed to ceasefire, which facilitates the government's work toward Israel.

Mohammed Dahlan is fighting on two fronts. The first one is reconstructing the security body and rebuilding all the destruction left by Israel. The second one is the opposition to Abbas' government, especially from certain members of the Fatah Central Committee, which he said failed in war and in peace, and are now accusing Abbas and his government.

He said that the Palestinians should not look backwards because there is no other alternative to the Roadmap. And because the detainees' issue is not included in the Roadmap, Mohammed Dahlan agreed with the Palestinian PM to insist on releasing everybody without exception.              

Sharon and the other war criminals are refusing this, just as they refuse every other Palestinian claim. However, the American position will be decisive: either both sides will implement the Roadmap or they return to the spiral of mutual violence.