President Mahmoud Abbas informed US Secretary of State Rice in their meeting yesterday in Ramallah that he is enthusiastic about holding the conference in the fall but he wants a conference that leads to real progress in the peace process. Officials in the PA said Abbas informed Rice that the success of the conference requires the participation of all Arab concerned parties, especially Syria and Lebanon, and that Rice responded by saying she will consider the request. One of the officials explained that President Abbas informed Rice that a conference that does not lead to real progress in the peace process and real change in the conditions of the Palestinians under occupation will backfire and lead to negative results, and that he warned that the failure of the conference will grant the forces opposing negotiations additional ammunition to attack his policies. The official said: President Abbas realizes that conditions on the Israeli side are not ripe to reach a historical agreement but he demands an agreement that combines between a declaration of principles and a framework agreement; an agreement in which the Israelis abide by a political solution based on the two states and to recognize that the Palestinian state shall be established on the territories occupied in 1967 with timetables and practical steps to achieve this goal.

The PA officials expressed relief for the visit of Rice. Nabil Amro, the media adviser to President Abbas, said the visit was successful especially that Rice informed President Abbas that the conference will discuss the core issues.

Abbas briefed Rice on the names of the members of the Palestinian negotiating delegation headed by Ahmad Qurei' and includes Yasser Abed Rabbo, Akram Hanieh and Saeb Erekat as members of the team. Informed sources said Qurei' has actually started meetings with Israeli officials, especially with Minister Haiim Ramon, who heads the Israeli team and is close to Israeli PM Olmert.

In the meantime, President Abbas said he will meet at the margins of the UN General Assembly meetings next week in New York with US President Bush. Abbas said he briefed the US official on the names of the members of the Palestinian negotiating team and that the Palestinian side is ready to start immediate talks with the Israelis to prepare for a successful meeting in the fall. President Abbas said in a joint press conference with Rice: We affirmed to Minister Rice that we seriously seek to reach a framework agreement to implement solutions for the final status issues which are the borders, Jerusalem, the refugees and the issues of settlements and water. Rice said: I affirm here in front of the President and the Palestinian people that US President Bush has no intention to invite the international community and the Palestinians and Israelis to a meeting without core content and without meaning; we don’t need an opportunity to take photos but we need a meeting that pushes the cause of the Palestinian state forward and this is the real reason behind holding the meeting; so you can be assured as of now that I will work and I know that President Abbas and Israeli PM Olmert and their teams are working seriously to find the principles for a successful meeting which must tackle core issues and push the Palestinian state cause forward and not a meeting for the sake of meeting. We have to push the process forward and reach a document that lays down the principles for serious negotiations to achieve the goal of establishing the Palestinian state as soon as possible.

President Abbas said the situation is vague as viewed by the Arabs countries in relation to the international conference. He said: I believe that many issues have to be clarified and this is the duty of the people who called for the conference; therefore, when matters are clear, the Arab countries, I believe but I cannot confirm as I don’t talk on their behalf, will participate. He said: We stressed to Minister Rice that in order for the political process to regain its credibility and for the peoples in the region to trust the political process, there is a need for an immediate halt of the Israeli settlement activities in the Palestinian lands and the halt of the construction of the separation and annexation wall and end the siege imposed on our lands and people as it has destructive impact on our economy and the living conditions of our people and this is a major source of concern to us; we also stressed on the utmost importance of ending the policy of Israeli military incursions and arrests against the Palestinian lands; the recent decision of the Israeli government on considering Gaza Strip as a hostile entity has dangerous connotations and all such measures sabotage the efforts of our government to enforce security and order in the Palestinian cities. We also stressed on the issue of the Palestinian prisoners and the need to release them and end their sufferings as we have been promised on more than one occasion. President Abbas said: We will meet with President Bush in New York during the meetings of the UN General Assembly to continue intensive discussions on reaching a just permanent and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

In the meantime, Israeli PM Olmert announced yesterday that he will hold a new meeting with President Abbas after the Jewish holidays and he promised to release a number of Palestinian prisoners. Olmert told a meeting with Kadima Party activists: I will meet with Abbas once again after the Jewish holidays.

Yom Kippur which on Saturday evening and the Sukkoth starts on September 27 and ends on October 4. He added: We are determined to proceed ahead in the peace process with the Palestinians and we have moderate partners who face difficulties that we know and I will continue to support President Abbas against Hamas and Islamic Jihad extremists.

Published at Al Ayyam and Al Hayat al Jadida NewsPapers on September 21, 2007