Abbas Says to Shun Talks Abroad if Arafat Isolated

28/04/2003| IslamWeb

Palestinian prime minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday he would not visit foreign capitals to discuss peace moves until Israel allowed President Yasser Arafat to travel freely again. Analysts say Abbas fears that accepting a White House invitation would make him look like a U.S. lackey in Palestinian eyes unless Israel stops trying to isolate Arafat. Washington, Israel's key ally wants the veteran president sidelined.

President Bush is due to unveil a "road map" shortly, aimed at reviving negotiations after two and a half years of bloodshed in the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, and Abbas's stand may delay such talks.

The right-wing Israeli government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said Arafat is free to leave his Ramallah base and go abroad but it will not guarantee to let him return.

No Significant Israeli Confidence-Building Measures to Be Expected

It also put Abbas on notice that he should not expect any significant Israeli confidence-building measures, such as troop pullbacks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip or release of Palestinian prisoners immediately after taking office.

A senior government source said Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz decided in consultations on Sunday that such moves would not take place until Abbas demonstrated he was waging a "serious fight against terrorism," including the arrest, interrogation and trial of Palestinian militants.

Arafat appointed his long-time associate as the Palestinians' first prime minister under international pressure for democratic reforms seen as critical to peaceful coexistence with Israel.

Israeli forces besieged and partly demolished Arafat's West Bank compound last year after a spate of suicide bombings by militants that Israel and the U.S. say have been incited and funded by the Palestinian president throughout the uprising.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinian prime minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas said on April 27, 2003 that he would not visit foreign capitals to discuss peace moves until Israel allowed President Yasser Arafat to travel freely again. (Osama Silwadi/Reuters)