Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to meet today, Wednesday, with Israeli PM Olmert in the framework of the continuous and regular meetings between them to prepare for the international peace conference to be held in Washington next month. Nimer Hammad, Adviser to President Abbas on Political Affairs, said the meeting today represents a launching point for the start of the work of the joint committees to draft the document to prepare for the international peace conference that US President Bush called for. Hammad was quoted saying: It is expected that both sides will start the work of the joint committees to draft an agreement on the final status issues. Although Israel stated very clearly that it rejects reaching a framework agreement, Hammad said: We don’t want to create tension in the atmosphere and we will insist on exerting pressure on the Israelis and the world to agree to a document between the two parties far away from the Israeli internal political considerations and balances of power. He continued: The fall conference is the last chance to achieve peace in the Middle East. He warned of the ramifications if the conference fails if the extremist parties inside Israel continue to reject reaching an agreement. It is not the task of the Palestinians alone to convince the Israelis, there are Arab and European countries and the viewpoints of President Bush that stress on the need to reach an agreement before holding the conference. Our weapon in the meetings with the Israelis is that we have a just cause and we rejected any declaration of principles or any other tranquilizers. On the impact of the Palestinian internal split on the conference, he demanded from Hamas to retreat from its actions which is a condition for the return of dialogue so that they can reunite both parts of the homeland. He said the wise people inside Hamas have to confront the extremist wing inside the movement so that the homeland can be reunited and dialogue can return between the two movements.

On his part, Yasser Abed Rabbo, Secretary of the PLO Executive Committee, said Abbas-Olmert meeting will focus on several basic issues, mainly the preparations for the international conference. Abed Rabbo told German News Agency at the end of the PLO Executive Committee meeting in Ramallah yesterday: the meeting will discuss the issue of the prisoners because the number of prisoners released in the past two days is a symbolic and limited step, and the other issues will include the settlements and the Israeli decisions taken on the settlements expansion and the apartheid wall and the Israeli dangerous decision considering Gaza Strip as a hostile entity which is rejected by the Palestinian leadership. The meeting will also tackled daily life issues pertaining to the movement of the Palestinian people and the checkpoints and the siege in all Palestinian areas.

He explained that President Abbas briefed the meeting on the results of his tour abroad. He explained that US Secretary of State Rice will be arriving in the region within the next two weeks.

Published at Al Quds NewsPaper on October 3, 2007