Sharon relaxes peace condition demands
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon signalled that he is dropping what was once his key demand for resuming peace talks – a Palestinian crackdown on militant groups.
Sharon said in a speech last night that while he still wants the armed groups dismantled, any crackdown would be ”complicated”.
He said he now considers Palestinian efforts to stop incitement against Israel as a sufficient sign of goodwill.
Palestinians have refused to confront the militants, saying they fear civil war, and the stand-off was one of the key obstacles in resuming negotiations. Israeli commentators described Sharon’s shift in position as dramatic.
“There is no longer the demand … of total war by the Palestinian Authority on terror groups, collecting weapons and governmental reform,” said the Yediot Ahronot newspaper.
Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat dismissed Sharon’s overture, saying Israel should resume negotiations without preconditions. “They decided to stop the negotiations, and not us,” Erekat said.
The Israeli prime minister’s conciliatory tone comes amid international efforts to restart the peace process in a spirit of hope after Yasser Arafat’s death last week.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell and foreign ministers from Britain, Russia and other Western nations are expected in the region next week.
In the Gaza Strip, interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas held meetings over several days with rival factions, including the Islamic militant Hamas, the largest opposition group, to try to reach agreement on a possible ceasefire in the run up to the election of a Palestinian Authority president on January 9.
It remained unclear whether Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia won any assurances from the militants.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said today that Israel would keep its distance until a new Palestinian leadership has emerged.
