British Prime Minister Tony Blair's plan for a Middle East conference was rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, reversing last week's positive statements from his government about attending.
In a meeting with Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda on Monday, Sharon said: "We will not participate, but we understand the importance [of the conference]."
"We do not consider this event to be a political conference, and that is what we were told. There is an important opportunity here to solve economic problems and the issue of reform. Regarding issues of security, discussions will be only with Israel," Sharon said.
Sharon ruled out Israeli participation in any multinational conference that touched on the nation's security. Palestinians have been pressing for a broader conference to revive stalled peace moves, but the UK says it wants to focus on building up Palestinian institutional and security capabilities in anticipation of an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.
"This meeting [the proposed conference] is about Palestine and practical reforms within Palestine," Blair's official spokesman said on Monday.
"This has never been conceived of as a major peace conference," said a Foreign Office spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Blair has said that reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is a foreign policy priority. Diplomatic moves have intensified following the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who was shunned by Israel and the US.
Israeli officials have said they expected Blair to visit this week and also meet with Palestinian officials. Blair's office refused to comment on any travel plans.
Israel had said last week that it was prepared to attend a London conference, which officials hoped would focus on ending violence and promoting Palestinian reforms.
Palestinian officials want to take up final status issues like Jerusalem, refugees, settlements and borders -- topics that have snagged previous negotiations.
"We want to focus on reviving the peace process and resuming permanent status negotiations," Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said on Monday.
US President George W. Bush on Monday repeated his belief that the crucial next step in the Middle East is to build a democratic state in Palestine.
"And I appreciate the fact that Prime Minister Tony Blair is willing to help that process by holding a conference with Palestinians that will help develop the state," Bush told a news conference in Washington.
The proposal for a conference has been vague about an agenda and a date. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said a conference is possible and would concentrate on practical arrangements for the aftermath of an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, set for next summer.
To assist in building up Palestinian security forces, the UK announced on Monday that it was giving ?450,000 (US$875,000) worth of bomb detection and disposal equipment to the Palestinian Authority.
The equipment "will allow the collection of Palestinian munitions and explosive ordnance devices thus indicating the serious intent of the Palestinian Police to take these items out of circulation in compliance with the [Middle East peace] road map," the Ministry of Defense said.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of