(Jerusalem Post) Ruthie Blum and Gil Hoffman - Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in an interview: PA Chairman Abbas "has the Arab countries solidly behind him. He has the majority of Palestinian public opinion solidly behind him. All of the strongest men in the PA are behind him: Muhammad Dahlan, Jibril Rajoub, and all the security organizations. But he's in love with his image of weakness, because he believes that this helps him mobilize international pressure on Israel to make more concessions." The Sharon-Abbas meeting "was much more serious and fruitful than it appeared. Sharon was very flexible and forthcoming....Sharon proposed relinquishing control of two more cities to the PA. He also said he would seriously review the release of additional prisoners. And he's prepared to go ahead with the removal of more roadblocks." "If the Palestinians do not restrain terror, the expectation for a major breakthrough after disengagement will not materialize. If there is an effective control of terror, then maybe disengagement will be very meaningful toward the next step....I don't envision a honeymoon the day after disengagement."
2005-06-24 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive