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Abbas vows end of attacks by radical groupsIsrael eases restrictions ahead of Bush summit
From Kelly Wallace
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas predicted Friday that he would persuade all radical Palestinian groups to agree to a cease-fire -- and end their attacks against Israelis -- within three weeks. The announcement came as President Bush began a trip that includes a peace summit with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and other stops in the Middle East. The Israeli government also announced that it would take "confidence-building" measures including releasing more than 100 Palestinian detainees, reopening borders between Israel and the occupied territories, issuing permits for 25,000 Palestinians to work in Israel and releasing impounded tax money to the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, aboard Air Force One with the president, expressed optimism for the peace process and rebuked Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. "I hope people will recognize that the future lies with the new leadership, not the old leadership," Powell said. Powell acknowledged that Arafat remains the authority's elected leader, but he said that the United States gave him many opportunities to take measures to jump-start the peace process, to no avail. "He's been a failed leader for the Palestinian people, and his many years of leadership have not brought the Palestinian people one step or one day closer to a Palestinian state," Powell said. "He didn't change; we moved on." Two high-level U.S. envoys are in the Mideast, working with Israelis and Palestinians on the statements that are likely to come out of next week's summit with Bush, who landed in Poland late Friday at the beginning of a seven-day, six-nation tour. (Full story) Israeli officials have said that a cease-fire is not an acceptable long-term solution, and that they need to see a complete "dismantling" of all Palestinian groups that have carried out attacks against Israelis. Abbas focused his announcement on short-term gains, however. "I am optimistic and I expect that we will reach an overall agreement with everybody for a complete cease-fire in all the territories," Abbas said in an interview Friday with Israel's Channel One. The Palestinian prime minister said he would reach this agreement in a period of time "that will not extend beyond three weeks. "I think we can reach full agreement, and we can rely on it and act by it," the prime minister said. In the interview, Abbas said he told Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon about his discussions with militant groups such as Hamas, and how he believes he can reach a successful conclusion through dialogue and prevent any possible civil war between Palestinian groups. "We started a dialogue with Hamas and other organizations," Abbas said. "And lately, 10 days ago, we completed this discussion and we reached more or less -- I am not saying agreed -- but we're convinced that we must put an end immediately to all the violent acts or activities between the Palestinian sides. "This is a very important agreement," Abbas said. "I explained that to the prime minister, and I think he did not reject this because this is the only way open to us. We don't want to bring war between brothers because it is destructive for us." Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist group, has claimed responsibility for four recent suicide bombings against Israelis, and has acknowledged previous attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers. The U.S. State Department labels the group a terrorist organization. With steps being made toward peace, an Israeli newspaper poll published Friday found that 57 percent of Israelis said they favor creating a temporary Palestinian state, and 38 percent said they were opposed. In that same poll, 62 percent said they supported an end to Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, while 32 percent opposed. Three-way summit set in JordanSharon and Abbas are expected to head to Jordan in coming days to meet with Bush next week to discuss implementing the internationally backed "road map" for Middle East peace. William Burns, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, and Elliot Abrams, the Mideast chief on Bush's National Security Council, are in the region to begin hammering out the statements that will be issued at the summit. Burns met Friday with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. The "road map" calls for the eventual creation of an independent Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace with Israel by 2005. The two prime ministers met for a second face-to-face meeting Thursday. No significant breakthroughs were announced, but both sides indicated that progress was made. Israeli officials described the meeting as having a "good atmosphere," and Palestinians described it as "serious, candid and beneficial." However, Israeli military sources said a Palestinian suicide bomber attempting to enter Israel on Friday died after his explosive charge went off under fire from Israeli troops. The incident occurred south of the Katif crossing between Gaza and Israel. The sources said Israeli troops suspected the man was wearing a suicide belt. During the session, Sharon renewed his offer to remove Israeli troops from northern Gaza and several West Bank towns, allowing the Palestinians to assume responsibility for security in those areas, said Ra'anan Gissin, a senior adviser to the Israeli leader. "That, of course, depends on the willingness of the Palestinian Authority, and [its] capability, to take real steps to stop terrorist activity, to dismantle the terrorist organizations, to confiscate the illegal weapons, to stop incitement," he said. Abbas said that Palestinians hoped to take charge of security first in Gaza, and then in West Bank towns in two to three weeks. He said the new Palestinian leadership wants to be fully ready for the task, noting that the past two-and-a-half years resulted in the "complete destruction in the West Bank and almost a complete destruction in Gaza, especially to the security systems. "We want to be prepared for this mission," Abbas said. Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Israel is warning Americans that they might risk being kidnapped in Gaza. A warning on the embassy's Web site said in part: "The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv has received credible reports of possible plans to kidnap U.S. citizens in Gaza. At this time Americans are advised to be particularly cautious." The warning does not give details of the reports or indicate who might be behind any plan to kidnap Americans. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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