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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
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| By Israel Insider staff October 5, 2007 |
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Meretz faction head Zehava Gal-On, and Labor MK Ophir Paz-Pines on Friday urged Olmert not to participate in the upcoming Mideast summit, which the Bush Administration has now moved back to late November.
"Since the goal of the conference amounts to a mere declaration of interests and doesn't deal with the core issues, it will be pointless," the Jerusalem Post quoted Gal-On as saying, citing an interview on Army Radio. Gal-On wants Israel to formally commit to more far-ranging concessions.
Gal-On faulted the right wing parties in Olmert's coalition. Their representatives have announced that they would leave the government if the prime minister divides Jerusalem and effectively cedes 100 percent of Judea and Samaria to the Palestinian Authority, as the PA along with Olmert's own confidant, Minister Haim Ramon, is suggesting.
"Olmert is not the leader who can reach an agreement with the Palestinians when (Israel Beiteinu chairman Avigdor) Lieberman and (Shas chairman Eli)Yishai sit in his government," Gal-On continued.
MK Othniel Schneller (Kadima), a close associate of Olmert, came to the defense of the prime minister. "While Olmert is proudly representing the public interest, Gal-On is waving a white flag to the Palestinians," Army Radio quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile, Ashraf al-Ajrami, the Palestinian Authority minister for prisoners' affairs, met this week with Public Security Minister Avi Dichter and demanded that all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails be freed in the coming months.
Dichter did not respond publicly to the PA minister's remarks, but al-Ajrami said the two discussed the issue.
"Dichter didn't say at the meeting that he would free Barghouti because he has a firm opinion on this matter, but we always talk about the need to free prisoners. Everything is now dependent on negotiations between the two sides," he continued, according to Haaretz.
Earlier Dichter had denied even discussing freeing Palestinian prisoners with Ajrami, but on Friday morning softened his denial, saying only that he was unwilling to discuss the contents of the meeting in public, Haaretz reported.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert released this week 86 prisoners as a "gesture" to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, whose government Olmert is trying to strengthen as a "moderate" force. However, analysts say that Hamas is growing just as strong as Fatah in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice begins next week another trip to the region, with a stop in Russia. There have been recurring reports from Washington as to the likelihood that the Annapolis summit would be moved back to late November or early December to allow the sides to make more progress in their discussions. But it is also a reflection that things are not going swimmingly from the Bush Administration's point of view.
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