JERICHO,
West Bank, May 11 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Israel's
position over the roadmap is negative, Palestinian cabinet affairs
minister Yasser Abed Rabbo told Agence France-Presse (AFP) after a
meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, as Israeli troops
staged an incursion into the northern West Bank city of Jenin and
abducted three activists.
"We
are not very pleased at these negotiations, because the Israeli
position is negative," he said. "The Israelis want to agree
on some points and not others. They want to do everything and they
don't want to do anything."
The
Palestinians have accepted the three-phase plan aimed at ending
violence, resuming talks and creating a Palestinian state within three
years, but Israel has listed 15 reservations and has not officially
accepted the blueprint.
Powell
said a number of key issues in the implementation of the
internationally-drafted roadmap would be discussed "at a later
time".
Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is due to travel to Washington on May 20
for talks with U.S. President George W. Bush.
Meanwhile,
an adviser to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, whom the U.S.
administration has boycotted for over a year, bluntly said Powell had
failed to achieve the goals of his visit.
"Powell's
visit has failed because of Sharon's policies and Israel's refusal to
announce it would implement the roadmap," Nabil Abu Rudeina told
AFP.
A
Call For Civil War
 |
|
Sharon’s
remarks "were a real call to the government to start a civil
war," Rantissi
|
For
its part, The Islamic resistance movement Hamas blasted comments made
Sunday by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that for progress to be
made towards peace Palestinians had to root out what he called
"terrorism".
Sharon's
objective "is to end Palestinian resistance and destroy the
organizations struggling in Palestine," said Hamas official
Abdelaziz al-Rantissi.
He
said the Israeli premier's remarks "were a real call to the
government to start a civil war ... and for (prime minister) Abu Mazen
to accept inter-Palestinian clashes," something Rantissi said,
Abu Mazen (Mahmud Abbas) would not accept.
Earlier
following talks with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sharon said
a "genuine" Palestinian crackdown on anti-Israeli militants
was the key to progress towards peace.
"A
genuine combating of terrorism by the Palestinians would be the key to
making progress in the diplomatic process in order to achieve security
for Israeli citizens and this will enable us to bring a new reality
for the Palestinians," he said.
Reacting
to Israel's announcement that total closure of the Palestinian
territories was lifted, Rantissi stressed "The Palestinians did
not pay the price of thousands of martyrs, injured and prisoners for
this result".
Israeli
incursion
Meanwhile
on the ground, Israeli troops on Sunday staged an incursion into the
northern West Bank city of Jenin and abducted three members of the
military wing of the Islamic Jihad group, including the local leader,
Palestinian witnesses and security sources said.
Some
30 Israeli tanks, armoured personnel carriers and jeeps -- backed by
two Apache helicopters -- stormed Jenin city and surrounded the house
where the three men from the Al-Quds Brigades were holed up, the
sources said.
An
exchange of fire broke out and a young child was wounded in the leg,
they added.
The
activists finally surrendered and the resistance group confirmed its
men had been abducted, he said.
The
Israeli army confirmed the incursion and the arrests, identifying the
Islamic Jihad leader as Anas Ghaleb Hassan Jaradat, 23.
It
claimed he was responsible for two operations in 2002 that had left 31
Israelis dead.
Sharon
To Meet Palestinian PM: Israeli TV
Meanwhile,
Israeli public television reported Sunday that Sharon and the
Palestinian prime minister could meet by the end of the week.
The
channel gave no date for the possible meeting and Sharon's office
refused to confirm the information, but the prime minister had earlier
expressed his intention to meet Abbas.
"We
will soon be meeting with our Palestinian colleagues and with the help
of the Americans, we will be able to achieve a settlement that will
lead to peace," Sharon said Sunday during a joint press
conference with visiting Colin Powell.
Palestinian
foreign minister Nabil Shaath later confirmed to the CNN
news channel plans were underway for a meeting.
"Yes,
it is true," he said, adding he did not know when they were going
to meet.
The
meeting would be the first between the two leaders since Abbas was
sworn in as prime minister on April 29. They had held secret meetings
after Sharon came to power in March 2001.
