Egyptian FM Ahmad Abul Gheit affirmed yesterday that his country called for a quartet summit next week in Sharm al-Sheikh to include Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and Jordanian King Abdullah II and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli PM Olmert. Abul Gheit said the summit will be held middle of next week. Nabil Abu Rdeineh, the official spokesperson for President Abbas, affirmed that the summit will be held next Monday in Sharm al-Sheikh and the Jordanian government confirmed the participation of King Abdullah II.

Israel announced that Olmert will participate in the summit and stressed that the summit comes to strengthen the moderates on the Palestinian arena and to reinforce the Israeli-Palestinian relations. Abul Gheit stressed that the Quartet Summit aims to achieve a push in the area of relations of Palestinians with Israel and to give a push also to the relations between the PA and Israel and to organize this relation and create the proper atmosphere to re-launch the peace process once again. When asked if the Palestinian factions are expected to abide by what can be reached in the summit, Abul Gheit said when the talk is between the President of the PA and Israeli PM, this constitutes a commitment on the PA and all Palestinians have to abide by it. The Egyptian minister was asked if Egypt held contacts with the United States and other international parties to make sure the summit will succeed and he said everybody knows about the motives of Egypt to hold this summit and there have been consultations in the past few days.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, member of the PLO Executive Committee, said the Palestinians want from this summit to lift the economic siege and remove the Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank, stressing that if the summit ends without any results, it will be harmful more than useful.

Hamas denounced yesterday the efforts by Jordan and Egypt to hold an Arab Summit with Abbas and Olmert at the time when the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people continues, stressing that holding such a summit will create Arab and Palestinian masses anger and rage. Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas official spokesperson, said holding such a summit under the conditions on the Palestinian arena with the participation of Israel is considered a reward to the occupation and represents an attempt to isolate and confront Hamas. He said: Holding the summit is painful to our people and harms the Palestinian interests and insults the feelings of the Arab and Islamic nation. He denounced the fact that President Abbas agreed to meet with the PM of the occupation without any conditions while he rejects to have dialogue with Hamas.

Published at Al Ayyam NewsPaper on June 22, 2007