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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (AP file)
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| By Associated Press June 5, 2006 |
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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to urge resumption of negotiations on an internationally backed peace plan.
At a news conference Sunday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after their talks, Olmert said he would insist that the Palestinians carry out their commitments under the plan, known as the "road map." Those include dismantling violent groups. Abbas, a moderate, has tried to control militants through negotiations, but the Hamas victory in elections and formation of a government have undermined his efforts.
This was the first meeting between the veteran Egyptian leader and Olmert since he became Israel's prime minister a month ago. As trade minister, Olmert met Mubarak in December 2004.
The two leaders talked in private for an hour and a half at Mubarak's palace at the resort at the tip of the Sinai desert, target of bombing attacks by Islamic extremists in recent months. Olmert said the two agreed to deepen their cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
Security was especially tight. Reporters and diplomats had to turn in their cellular telephones and portable computers on entering the site.
Olmert began his remarks by expressing "deep regret" over a weekend incident on the Egypt-Israel border in which Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Egyptian policeman. Olmert said there would be a joint investigation "to ensure that this will never happen again."
The warm atmosphere was apparent in the public meeting, as the two leaders smiled at each other's phrases and shared a hug at the end of the news conference.
Olmert did not give a date for his meeting with Abbas, the first summit meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders since February 2005.
Olmert said his first priority now is to resume peace talks with the Palestinians, leaving his plan to unilaterally draw Israel's border with the West Bank as a second option. Mubarak agreed that negotiations should be pursued and did not comment directly on Olmert's unilateral plan.
Olmert said, "I really hope that our Palestinian partners will take advantage of this opportunity and will implement all their commitments so that it will be possible to proceed according to the road map."
Mubarak refused to give his opinion over a dispute between the Hamas-led Palestinian government and Abbas over a document implicitly recognizing Israel.
"I am asking our Palestinian brothers, Fatah and Hamas, to solve their problems, so that they will be able reach an agreement," the Egyptian leader said. "If the struggle continues, they will not be able to focus on the peace process."
Egypt has often mediated between Israel and the Palestinians and has brokered agreements among Palestinian factions.
Abbas has threatened to call a referendum if Hamas does not accept the document by Tuesday.
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