Israel to 'pray for failure'

2005-02-06 12:47

Jerusalem - Israeli rabbis were planning on Sunday to hold special sessions in 100 synagogues to pray for the failure of this week's summit between prime minister Ariel Sharon and new Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.

The prayer sessions on Monday will also call for divine intervention against Sharon's plan to pull settlers out of the Gaza Strip and small parts of the northern West Bank later this year.

Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri, one the organisers, told army radio that "the objective is to prevent the prime minister from committing the error of giving up parts of Eretz Israel (Biblical Israel) which belongs to the Jewish people".

Another of the driving forces behind the initiative is the former chief rabbi Mordechai Elihyau who is known for his hardline nationalist stance.

Sharon and Abbas will meet at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday as part of growing international efforts to revive the peace process.

- AFP