Sharon, Abbas talk as Israel suspends offensive

By Matthew Tostevin

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed on Sunday to meet
soon and improve cooperation as Israel suspended an offensive
following a halt to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

Their first telephone conversation in over five weeks could
help put peacemaking back on track after a surge of violence
that damaged hopes stirred by Israel’s September 12 withdrawal
from Gaza to end 38 years of military rule.

Abbas called Sharon with greetings for the Jewish New Year,
which starts at sundown on Monday. Sharon expressed best wishes
for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, starting this week.

A statement from Sharon’s office said they “agreed to
tighten cooperation between them and to work together to
advance the process. They also agreed to meet soon in order to
advance various issues that are on the agenda.”

“Both leaders expressed hope that the new year would be
more successful, a year of peace and hope,” it said.

Israeli and Palestinian officials said no date had been set
for a summit. A meeting had been pencilled in for Sunday, but
was canceled because of a lack of preparation and amid the
surge of violence.

After five days without rocket fire from the Gaza Strip,
Israeli security sources said an offensive there was being
scaled back to give Abbas a chance to stop militants from
launching attacks.

AIRSTRIKES AND RAIDS

Israeli airstrikes prompted by rocket salvoes killed four
gunmen in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces also raided the West
Bank to arrest hundreds of suspected militants. Five gunmen and
a teenager were killed during raids.

Abbas, under U.S. pressure to bring militants under
control, began deploying forces late last week to stop fighters
from carrying weapons on Gaza streets and prevent attacks on
Israel.

Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat welcomed the Israeli
decision to scale back the offensive.

“We are committed to stop violence against the Israelis
anywhere,” he told Reuters. “We hope that the Israeli
announcement today will reflect an Israeli commitment to stop
violence against Palestinians everywhere.”

The powerful Islamic militant faction Hamas, sworn to
destroying the Jewish state, said it did not trust Israel to
end “aggressive practices” on the ground.

But Hamas has reaffirmed its commitment to a February truce
that smoothed Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and has been
largely popular with Palestinians. A new opinion poll showed
that 62 percent of Palestinians opposed launching attacks from
Gaza.

The latest bloody surge began after an explosion killed 17
people at a Hamas rally. Accusing Israel, Hamas fired off
rocket salvoes from Gaza. Israel denied responsibility and
Palestinian officials said the blast was caused by a Hamas
accident.

Abbas is due to visit Washington this month to discuss ways
of reviving peace negotiations.

Israel insists that Abbas dismantles militant groups such
as Hamas — a process that the Palestinians are meant to begin
under a U.S.-backed peace “road map” — before there can be new
talks on Palestinian statehood.

Israel has failed to meet its own road map commitment to
freeze settlement building in the West Bank, fuelling
Palestinian fears that the Gaza withdrawal plan was an Israeli
ruse to strengthen its hold on the West Bank.

Palestinians want a state made up of the Gaza Strip, West
Bank and East Jerusalem, all captured by Israel in the 1967
war.

(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza;
Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah, Allyn Fisher-Ilan in Jerusalem)