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Abbas Summons Militants for Gaza Talks

Posted on: Tuesday, 18 January 2005, 15:00 CST

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas traveled to Gaza on Tuesday for meetings with militants, saying he is hopeful he can persuade them to halt attacks on Israel, but a bombing attack shortly after his arrival cast a shadow over the prospects.

A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up near a major road used by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the southern Gaza Strip, wounding at least six Israelis. A Palestinian bystander was also injured, according to Palestinian rescue officials. The Hamas militant group claimed responsibility.

Earlier, as Abbas headed to the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned the Palestinians that time was running out for them to take action.

Abbas, whose political survival depends on the success of the negotiations, said in an interview that Israel must do its part by halting military operations - a guarantee Israel has been unwilling to give.

"I am going to Gaza with the hopes of reaching an agreement," Abbas said in the West Bank city of Ramallah shortly before his departure. He arrived in Gaza just before nightfall, meeting with leaders of his Fatah Party and security commanders. Officials said no meetings with militants were planned for the evening.

Abbas has ruled out using force against the militants, despite Israel's insistence that he crack down.

The bombing at the Gush Katif intersection came just two hours after Abbas arrived in Gaza, evidence that militants will not give up attacks against Israelis easily. Since Israel announced a year ago that it would pull out of Gaza in the summer, militants have been stepping up attacks, trying to show that they are driving the Israelis out.

Abbas met Tuesday with David Pearce, the U.S. consul-general in Jerusalem, and said he is serious about dealing with the militants but needs time to reach an agreement, according to a top Palestinian official. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Abbas had asked the Americans to pressure Israel to be patient with Abbas.

Sharon suspended contact with Abbas after an attack on a Gaza border crossing last week that killed six Israeli civilians. Sharon also has threatened a major raid into Gaza to stop militants from firing rockets, but has held off any large-scale action.

Sharon met with his army chief and other top commanders at the Erez crossing on the Gaza border Tuesday, seeking answers on how to stop repeated rocket and mortar fire on Israeli communities. He said the attacks are unacceptable and that the military must act quickly.

"We need to deal with this at the earliest possible stage," Sharon told the commanders. "The more time passes, and if we signal that Israel is willing to accept such things, the harder it will be to deal with this in the future."

Sharon also warned Abbas, who took office Saturday, that Israel's patience is wearing thin. "Abu Mazen doesn't need a settling-in period. It's not as if he doesn't know what's happening in the field," Sharon said, using Abbas' nickname.

Israeli defense officials said that wide international opposition to a large-scale Israeli raid is tying their hands. The European Union and Jordan urged Sharon on Tuesday to show restraint and give Abbas a chance to bring the militants under control.

Israel has demanded that, as a preliminary step, the Palestinians deploy security forces in the areas in northern Gaza used to launch the rockets, Israeli officials said Tuesday.

On Monday, Abbas instructed the Palestinian security forces to try to prevent attacks against Israel and to investigate the attack at the border crossing.

Palestinian officials have declined to elaborate on how the orders would be translated into action. But Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said the Palestinians are serious about maintaining quiet.

"The Palestinian people will be the best policemen," he said. "Once an agreement is reached, it will be enforced."

Israeli newspapers reported Tuesday that Abbas ordered hundreds of police to be deployed in northern Gaza to prevent rocket attacks. However, there was no apparent change in Palestinian deployment Tuesday.

In an earlier show of defiance Tuesday, Gaza militants fired four mortar shells and a homemade rocket. The mortar shells were aimed at the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom in central Gaza, causing no injuries or damage, settlers said. The army fired in response, critically wounding a 15-year-old Palestinian boy in the head, Palestinian doctors said.

Abbas, elected Jan. 9 to replace Yasser Arafat, faces a difficult task in Gaza.

Still, he said he's optimistic about the talks in Gaza with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent group with ties to his ruling Fatah movement.

Abbas said he has good relations with the militants, based on mutual trust, and noted that as prime minister in 2003, he negotiated a temporary truce that lasted for nearly two months.

Abbas said Israel must help him. "It should stop all military attacks against the Palestinian people, stop incursions, the assassinations and the building of the wall (separation barrier), release prisoners and accept a mutual cease-fire," Abbas said.

Abbas also said he expects to visit Washington after he forms a new government. President Bush, who refused to meet with Arafat, has invited Abbas to the White House.

A Hamas spokesman, meanwhile, said the group would only consider halting attacks if Israel stops military operations.

"We do not accept discussing a one-sided truce while our Palestinian people are the target of bloody massacres, brutal terrorism and daily murders," said the spokesman, Mushir al-Masri.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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