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Sharon, Abbas plan to meet on peace 'road map'Source: Long-stalled security talks resumed Saturday
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas plan to meet this month to discuss the proposed "road map" to a final peace plan, Israeli and Palestinian officials said Sunday. Meanwhile, an Israeli source said high-level security talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials -- stalled since last year because of ongoing violence -- resumed on Saturday. Mohammed Dahlan, the new Palestinian minister of state for security affairs, and Gen. Amos Gilad, who coordinates Israel's activities in the Palestinian territories, met in Tel Aviv to resume the talks, the Israeli source said. Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath told CNN that Abbas will urge Sharon to publicly accept the so-called road map, which Israel has not yet done, "and to start together to implement this road map -- each of us implementing his share of these obligations and responsibilities." The meeting between the two prime ministers is planned to take place before Sharon's planned trip to Washington, which is expected on May 20. Also on Sunday, the Israeli Defense Ministry said it will give 25,000 Palestinians permission to work in Israel and is releasing 180 prisoners as steps toward building trust with the Palestinians. Israel also announced that it will open borders for the movement of goods from the Palestinian territories into neighboring countries, including Egypt and Jordan. The prisoners affected were taken into custody on nonviolent offenses -- most for being in Israel illegally, an Israeli official said. Sixty-three prisoners were released Sunday and the rest are scheduled for release Monday, the official said. The details of the release were discussed in the unannounced meeting between Dahlan and Gilad. The developments came as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday that Israeli and Palestinian Authority leaders agree on enough points of the so-called road map to Mideast peace to move forward with its implementation. Speaking at a news conference with Abbas in the West Bank town of Jericho, Powell said there was "sufficient agreement on the provisions within the road map so that we can get started." The road map is backed by the so-called Mideast Quartet -- United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union. It is aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and establishing a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state by 2005. "Obviously, there are still comments to be received from the Israeli side," Powell said. "And we look forward to analyzing those, and the two sides need to talk to each other. But I believe that there is sufficient good will, sufficient commitment, that we can get started." Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen, said his discussions with Powell were "deep and serious and were positive," and he urged Israel to accept the road map as is, without "dismantling it." "While the government and leadership of Palestine are ready to cooperate to implement what is their commitments, we also expect the Israeli party to implement their duties," he said. Powell planned to depart Israel on Monday morning for Egypt, the second stop on his weeklong trip, which also includes visits to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Bulgaria and Germany. Powell announces Palestinian aidThe United States will provide $50 million to help the Palestinian Authority repair infrastructure and to aid political reform, Powell said. But he said the goal of a Palestinian state "rings hollow" without steps by Israel to ease restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel briefly lifted its border closures with Gaza and the West Bank, starting at 2 a.m. Sunday. At 1 a.m. Monday, though, it enforced the closure again because of information about possible terrorist activity, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said. "There will be no entrance or exit of Palestinians and foreign nationals from the Gaza Strip, except for foreign diplomats and humanitarian cases," an IDF spokesman said. But the Israelis said they want to see a crackdown on Palestinian militant organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the U.S. State Department considers terrorist organizations. Hamas' military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, has admitted responsibility for terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and attacks against the Israeli military. Islamic Jihad is a militant group dedicated to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad have publicly rejected Abbas' call to end terrorist attacks. Sharon: 'New and better reality'Speaking at a news conference Sunday after a meeting with Powell, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stressed the importance of the Palestinian Authority's ability to end terrorist attacks. "A genuine war against terror by the Palestinians, involving the real effort to prevent terror, is key to progress in political process," said Sharon, speaking in English. "Security for the Israeli people will lead to measures that will create new and better reality for the Palestinian population." Israeli officials also want the Palestinians to drop their insistence on the right of Arab refugees to return to homes in what is now Israel. Israelis have said that could force Israel to lose its character as a Jewish state. Under the road map, the Palestinian Authority will have to accept "Israel's right to exist in peace and security," dismantle "terrorist capabilities and infrastructure," end all "incitement" against Israel, and hold free and fair elections. The plan calls for Israel to affirm its commitment to a viable, independent Palestinian state, freeze all construction in Jewish settlements, dismantle illegal settlement outposts built since March 2001 and withdraw from certain areas. Powell arrived in Jerusalem on Saturday and shortly afterward began meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. He was not scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, with whom Washington has refused to deal.
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