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Palestinian policy 'clear' on radicals
26/07/2003 22:31 - (SA)
Washington - Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas said on Saturday that he ended a series of meetings with US officials having clarified the Palestinian position on a truce by radical movements.
The United States "has its approach to the matter. It wants us to dismantle the radical groups. We told them that if the truce remains in place, why should we use force against our own people?" Abbas told journalists.
On June 29, several armed Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, declared a unilateral three-month cease-fire on anti-Israeli attacks. However, Israel has demanded that the groups themselves be dismantled.
"We have cleared up that point with the Americans. We explained what we are ready to do and what we cannot do," he said in respect to a series of meetings with US officials that were dominated by security matters.
According to sources close to the Palestinian delegation, security minister Mohammad Dahlane had at least seven hours of meetings with national security advisor Condoleezza Rice and CIA director George Tenet.
Abbas was pleased with President George W Bush's support for a Palestinian state on contiguous territory and with Bush's reaction to the "wall," as Palestinians call the security fence Israel is building along its border with the West Bank. Bush called it "a problem."
Abbas also will have to await the outcome of meetings beginning on Tuesday between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and US officials to have a clearer idea of the future relations between the two sides.
Abbas was to leave Washington late on Saturday to return to Morocco, where he is to meet Morocco's King Mohammed VI who heads the Al-Qods Committee, an offshoot of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, according to his entourage. -AFP
- AFP
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