Sharon and Abbas have accepted Mubarak’s invitation for next week’s summit in Sharm El-Sheikh.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, February 2 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Accepting an invitation from President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are to meet next week for talks on the shores of the Egyptian Red Sea city of Sharm El-Sheikh.

Jordan's King Abdullah II will also take part in the summit Tuesday, February 8, in part of a concerted international effort to forge ahead with the Middle East peace process, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Wednesday, February 2.

The invitation was delivered to Sharon by Egyptian intelligence services chief Omar Suleiman in a meeting in west Jerusalem Wednesday.

“In light of progress in the security talks with the Palestinians, Egyptian President Mubarak has invited Prime Minister Sharon and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas to meet next Tuesday at Sharm El-Sheikh,” a statement from the Israeli prime minister's office said.

“Prime Minister Sharon has accepted the invitation,” the statement added.

Sharon completely boycotted late Palestinian emblematic leader Yasser Arafat, claiming that he was an obstacle to peace.

A spokesman for Abbas also said the Palestinian leader had accepted the invitation.

“We have agreed to attend the summit,” Maher Chalabi told AFP from Turkey where Abbas is currently visiting.

Both Abbas and Sharon did meet on a number of occasions in the summer of 2003 during Abbas’s brief spell as prime minister, including at the launch of the roadmap peace plan.

The blueprint which aims for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel has made next to no progress since its launch although both Sharon and Abbas have recently emphasized that they remain committed to the plan.

Israel has accused the Palestinians of violating its terms by failing to stop “violence” while the Palestinians point to the continued settlement activity in the occupied territories and the incessant incursions as proof that Israel is not meeting its obligations.

Abbas in recent days has taken several steps to enhance his security apparatuses, chiefly the deployment of thousands of troops throughout the Gaza Strip with orders to prevent anti-Israeli attacks.

Not a Yardstick

The Jordanian King also takes part in the summit.

Commenting on the coming summit, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said that holding a summit between leaders is not the only yardstick of success.

“What matters is an Israeli commitment to the conditions set by the Palestinian resistance factions,” Meshaal told Al-Jazeera satellite channel Wednesday.

Meshaal said Israel is now in a real limbo and forced to make concessions.

“We now see Israeli officials, like Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, rush to declare that president Abbas has secured a truce…Take my word, Sharon’s security scheme has ended in a complete failure,” he added.

The resistance leader further said that stability in the region counts on the return of the inalienable rights of the Palestinians by Israel.

“Resistance factions do enjoy a soaring popularity among the Palestinians. Hamas’s landslide victory in the municipal election is a case in point,” Meshaal said.

Suleiman met Tuesday, February 1, in Cairo with Meshaal and Islamic Jihad senior official Ramadan Shalah to tackle the much-talked-about truce.

“Gen. Suleiman has also discussed with the two resistance leaders the possibility of joining the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO),” Islamic Jihad official Mohammad Al-Hindi said.

Al-Arabiya news channel reported that the two resistance factions agreed in principle to a “cooling down” period should Israel release Palestinian prisoners.

Abbas has also managed to persuade resistance groups to observe a temporary “cooling down” period.

The Palestinian president is trying to translate his painstaking efforts into a formal ceasefire but wants Israel to reciprocate by ending its aggressive activities in the occupied territories and starting to release prisoners.

The killing Monday of a 10-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl by Israeli gunfire in a Rafah school and the subsequent mortar firing into Jewish settlements have underlined that fragile nature of a potential truce.

Major Palestinian resistance factions warned last week that the never-ending “oppressive” practices by Israeli occupation troops would nip in the bud a potential ceasefire sought tirelessly by Abbas.

A unilateral truce declared by Palestinian resistance factions on June 29, 2003, collapsed after Israeli forces assassinated Ismail Abu Shanab, a Hamas political leader.