Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will travel to Washington at the end of this month for talks with US President George W. Bush, Israeli officials said yesterday, as the US tries to nurture momentum behind a fragile ceasefire and a plan for Mideast peace.
In a threat to peace moves, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas faced continuing opposition within his own Fatah party from critics who feel he has failed to win any concessions -- most importantly the release of Palestinian prisoners -- from Israel in renewed contacts. That opposition could topple Abbas and end fledgling moves toward peace, several Palestinian officials said.
As a goodwill gesture, Israel has released a few hundred prisoners but has refused to free those implicated in violent attacks on Israelis or members of Islamic militant groups. Palestinians demand the bulk of about 7,000 prisoners be released, and militant leaders say they'll cancel a ceasefire declared less than two weeks ago if Israel does not comply.
Earlier this week, Abbas briefly threatened to resign as prime minister unless Fatah endorsed his handing of contacts with Israel. He also quit the Fatah Central Committee, though his resignation was rejected.
"It's part of the labor pains of a new era," Fatah legislator Saeb Erekat said yesterday.
Seeking his public's backing as he went into talks with Israel, the Palestinian prime minister made the release of prisoners a cardinal issue. With thousands behind bars, most Palestinians know someone who is in jail.
Two weeks ago, Abbas did something remarkable for the low-key, soft-spoken leader: he plunged into a noisy crowd that had gathered outside his West Bank office to demand he press harder for the freeing of prisoners.
Demanding a megaphone, Abbas told the protesters: "Be sure that we will exert our utmost in order to empty all prisons of prisoners."
"This issue will either make or break him," Erekat said. He added that the new peace plan had raised expectations -- yet to be realized -- among Palestinians that life would be easier: Israeli military forces would pull back and lift roadblocks that have hindered travel and ruined the economy.
Israeli troops did pull out of parts of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Bethlehem, but further withdrawals are conditional on Palestinian efforts to police any militant activity.
A meeting late Thursday between Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan ended without any progress on the issue of prisoners, Erekat said.
In the two-hour meeting at an Israel-Gaza crossing point, Mofaz demanded the Palestinians take action against the militant groups; otherwise, progress toward peace would be impossible, Israel Radio reported.
Abbas has refused a showdown with militants, fearing it could set off a civil war. Instead, he is trying to negotiate a permanent end to their attacks against Israelis.
A West Bank Fatah leader, Amin Makboul, said Abbas' leadership could collapse within weeks if there's no progress on the issue of prisoners and further Israeli troop pullbacks.
"The pressure will increase on him and he will resign," Makboul said.
Complicating the internal dispute, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat -- who has been partially sidelined since Abbas was appointed premier in April after US pressure -- appeared to be trying to reassert more control over Palestinian diplomacy.
A statement from the Fatah Revolutionary Council said the advisory body within Fatah would meet on a regular basis "to enable [it] to assume its leading role in drawing up the movement's policies and follow up the implementation of its decisions," the Palestine Media Center said.
Under the law creating the position of premier, Arafat's Fatah executive retains the final say in talks with Israel.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was