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Israel's Sharon to call Abbas JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his Cabinet on Tuesday that he hopes to meet newly elected Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the "near future" — the latest sign that the two sides are trying to work toward peace after years of stalemate.
Sharon, at the first meeting with his new Cabinet, including Labor Party leader Shimon Peres, said he would call Abbas later Tuesday, and the two would discuss setting up a meeting, an official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "I plan on talking to Mahmoud Abbas later in the day to congratulate him," Sharon was quoted as saying. He said the meeting will be "in the near future" and focus on security-related issues. A senior Defense Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israel is ready to hand over to the Palestinians security duties in West Bank cities. The official said discussions with the Palestinians on the matter would likely begin in the coming days. But clouds hovered over both leaders on Monday, despite their victories. While pledging to work with Abbas, militant Palestinian groups challenged his triumph at the polls, claiming not enough voters took part. As for Sharon, the narrow 58-56 parliamentary vote in favor of his new team, allowing it to take office, was possible only with the support of a dovish opposition party. His own Likud Party split over his plan to remove all 21 settlements from Gaza and four from the West Bank in the summer. Abbas' victory, which capped a peaceful transition of power after the Nov. 11 death of longtime leader Yasser Arafat, has raised hopes around the world that peace talks could soon resume. "We extend our hands to our neighbors," Abbas declared late Monday after a meeting with international observers who monitored the election. "We are ready for peace, peace based on justice. We hope that their response will be positive." Sharon welcomed Abbas' victory but said he will watch closely how hard he tries to subdue militants. In Washington, President Bush congratulated Abbas and invited the new Palestinian leader to the White House — an offer that was never extended to Arafat. Palestinian spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh called the invitation "encouraging." Final results released Monday showed Abbas winning 62.3 percent of the vote, said Hanna Nasser, head of the Central Election Commission. His main challenger, independent Mustafa Barghouti, won 19.8 percent, while the remaining five candidates scored in the lower single digits. However, no turnout figure was given because of confusion over the number of unregistered voters who were deemed eligible to vote. Voting was extended by two hours Sunday in what officials with Abbas' Fatah (news - web sites) movement acknowledged was a move to encourage more ballots. On Sunday, Palestinian officials said close to 70 percent of 1.1 million registered voters cast ballots. But because election officials opened up the polls to all Palestinians above age 18 in the middle of the day on Sunday, about 660,000 others could have voted. Nasser, the election commission chief, said only 12 percent of those people voted, indicating that the true turnout might have been closer to 50 percent, but he declined to give a final figure. The militant groups, which have carried out dozens of suicide bombings in Israel over the past four years, boycotted the election, though they did not try to disrupt the voting. After the vote count, they expressed some doubts.
Mohammed al-Hindi, an Islamic Jihad leader, said the radical group is ready to work with Abbas. But he said the election did not represent the wishes of the Palestinian majority. "That means the result doesn't authorize the winner to negotiate the essential questions of the Palestinian people," he added. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of homemade rockets and mortar rounds at Jewish towns and settlements Tuesday. Five mortar bombs shattered the windows of a crowded synagogue during morning prayers, a settler spokesman said. No one was injured. A homemade rocket also landed in the Israeli town of Sderot. No one was injured, but several buildings and cars were damaged. Hamas claimed responsibility. Israel has long demanded that the Palestinians halt the mortar and rocket fire, and Abbas has criticized the tactic as ineffective and damaging to the Palestinians. The militants have stepped up the rocket fire in recent weeks, although there were no attacks during Sunday's presidential election. Sharon lost his parliamentary majority last summer with the exit of pro-settler parties from his government over the pullout plan. The new government, with 66 of the 120 seats in parliament, includes the dovish Labor Party, with its leader, Peres, as Sharon's second vice premier, alongside Ehud Olmert of Sharon's Likud Party. The other new member is United Torah Judaism, a small ultra-Orthodox faction. To meet all the targets, Sharon must contend with stiff opposition from his own Likud Party. Thirteen of its 40 party members of parliament oppose the pullout and threatened to vote against his new government. The 13 rebels are expected to oppose each step of the process in the parliament. Sharon has said his new Cabinet will vote on the pullout plan this month. Officials in Sharon's office said the parliament is to vote on a bill providing compensation to uprooted settlers by the end of the month. The evacuation is to begin in July. |
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