Thu, Mar 17, 2005 page6

• Abbas faces hard sell with cease-fire amid negotiation

  PEACE PROCESS The heads of the Palestinian factions may agree to a one-year truce, but the groups say they want concessions from Israel before signing the deal

  • AP
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  Egypt urged unity on Tuesday, trying to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas' hand as the Palestinian leader began a tough sell of a one-year cease-fire with Israel at the start of talks with leaders of militant Palestinian factions.

  Already under pressure from Israel, Abbas has come to Cairo to convince the militant groups to declare and live by the 12-month truce, even though Israel says one year is not enough.

  "The coming period requires all forces to work with more responsibility, and to behave with greater political consciousness," said Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as the meetings began.

  Leaders from 13 factions sat around a table as Abbas addressed the group, telling them that fewer militant attacks has eased the Palestinians' everyday plight.

  "There is no alternative but for dialogue between us now," he said.

  The talks were expected to last several days. The faction leaders say they're not interested in agreeing to a cease-fire unless Abbas can secure their demands from Israel -- including Palestinian prisoner release, an end to military incursions into Palestinian towns and a halt to the "targeted killing" of wanted militants.

  Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon already has cast doubt on the truce effort, saying it is no solution unless the factions give up "the terrorism option" entirely. His foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, said the peace process could be damaged further unless more is achieved.

  "Just an understanding is not enough because it will allow the terrorist organizations to rebuild," Shalom told reporters in Jerusalem on Tuesday. "An easing off is not a cease-fire and it can bring the destruction of the peace process."

  But Abbas also accused Israel of not fulfilling the commitments it undertook at the recent summit in Sharm el Sheik.

  "The situation on the ground went on unchanged, with the continuation of the settlement activities, building of the racist separation wall, and the continuation of the siege and closures and checkpoints," Abbas said. "We stress that we will never accept the implementation of commitments from one side and ... we call on Israel to implement its commitments."

  The talks -- the fourth attempt to unite and quiet Palestinian militancy since the uprising started anew four years ago -- were opening in a climate seen as more conducive for a breakthrough in the stalled Arab-Israeli peace process than in the past.

  "The challenges that Palestinian society faces are great and numerous, and require that differences be put aside and that a clear agreement be reached on the elements of Palestinian action in the coming period," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said at the outset of the meetings.

  Egyptian officials close to the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Egypt is also pushing the idea of a broader one-year truce as well as participation by militant groups in Abbas' Palestinian Authority.

  Hamas, which had boycotted elections for the past decade, announced over the weekend it is competing in the July 17 vote for the Palestinian legislative council, a major challenge to Abbas' Fatah movement.

  However, Hamas leader Mohammed Nazzal said although they will participate in the legislature, they will not have any part in Abbas' administration.

  Abu Imad al-Rifaei, an Islamic Jihad delegate to the talks, said his group would not participate in the election.
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