(Prime Minister's Media Adviser/IMRA) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met Sunday at his Jerusalem residence with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas and Palestinian Ministers Mohammed Dahlan, Hisham Abdalraziq, and Nabil Amr. The meeting lasted for approximately two hours and was conducted in a pleasant atmosphere. Prime Minister Sharon said that Israel is unable to ignore the fact that recently there has been an decrease in terror and incitement, but there has been a strengthening of the terror organizations with which the PA has reached agreements. The prime minister stressed that the terror organizations present a daily threat to the cease-fire agreement. The prime minister asked his Palestinian counterpart to take immediate and definite action to dismantle the terror organizations and added that, once this has been carried out, Israel's ability to answer the needs of the Palestinians will be significantly increased. Prime Minister Sharon and Prime Minister Abbas discussed the issue of releasing prisoners. Prime Minister Sharon said he plans to convene the committee for releasing prisoners this Wednesday, and the list of prisoners to be released will be formulated soon. The prime minister added that following his return from the U.S., the committee will be reconvened and will reevaluate the criteria by which prisoners are released. It was also agreed that the defense minister would meet with Minister Dahlan in order to discuss the possibility of transferring additional cities to Palestinian control in accordance with Prime Minister Sharon's assurance that there will be no IDF presence in areas where the PA assumes responsibility. Prime Minister Sharon and Prime Minister Abbas agreed they would meet again upon their return from the U.S.
2003-07-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive