Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised not to build any new
Jewish settlements during a meeting with Palestinian National
Authority (PNA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, an Israeli
official told Xinhua.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
(L) and Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert shake hands during
their meeting in Jerusalem Dec. 27, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo)
Olmert made the pledge during the meeting with Abbas at his
residence in Jerusalem, first of its kind since the two were back
from Annapolis peace conference held late November.
Olmert promised during the two-hour meeting that Israel would
not build any new settlements and would stop expropriating land in
the West Bank, said David Baker, an official with the Prime
Minister's Office.
"This is a positive meeting. Both sides repeated their
commitment to the Roadmap and make continued progress in the
negotiations," he said.
The two leaders will keep on the mechanism of biweekly meeting.
According to local daily Ha'aretz, Olmert told Abbas that Israel
"will take no steps that will hurt our ability to arrive at final
status negotiations with the Palestinians."
He underlined that Israel wants to carry out the negotiations
"in good faith," the report added.
However, Olmert did not guarantee Abbas that Israel would not
expand settlement in Har Homa although the leaders agreed that the
two sides would refrain from taking any steps that would hinder
efforts to reach a permanent peace agreement.
Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
(R), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (2nd R), chief Palestinian
negotiator and former prime minister Ahmed Qurie (2nd L), and
Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (L) stand together during
their meeting in Jerusalem Dec. 27, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo)
"The prime minister has not promised to freeze tenders that have
already been published and are already underway," a senior Israeli
official was quoted by local daily Yedioth Ahronoth as saying.
The Palestinians are particularly upset over a tender by Israeli
Ministry of Housing and Construction for the building project of
307 housing units in the southeast Jerusalem neighborhood of Har
Homa, on the Palestinian side of the Green Line.
On Wednesday, Palestinian sources said Abbas had conditioned the
advancement of the peace talks on the immediate halt of all
settlement construction, adding that additional gestures are
required by Israel in order to increase the Palestinian people's
trust in their president.
Laborers work at a construction site
in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim Dec. 27,
2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Hours before Thursday's summit, a spokesman for Abbas had said
that President Abbas would ask Olmert to freeze settlement
activities in the Palestinian lands.
"The president will be very clear: the building of settlements
must stop first," Nabil Abu Redina told Voice of Palestine
radio.
"The negotiations must be serious with a real launching and
without procedures blocking them," said the spokesman.
Thursday's summit was also attended by the negotiating teams
from both sides, which were headed by Israeli Foreign Minister
Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qurei
respectively.
The negotiating teams concluded their second round of peace
talks on Monday without yielding any result or progress as the two
sides persisted in their own concerns. The Palestinians insisted
that Israel should stop settlement expansion, while Israelis
demanded an improved security mechanisms from the Palestinian
side.
President George W. Bush stands on
stage with Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas at the Israel-Palestinian Peace Conference
at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Nov. 27, 2007.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Abbas and Olmert have been meeting regularly since June when
Hamas took over Gaza and routed pro-Abbas security forces.
Since Annapolis meeting, Israel has also disclosed plans for new
construction in 2008 within the Maale Adumim settlement which the
Jewish state hopes to keep as part of any final peace deal.
The White House announced in early December that U.S. President
George W. Bush will visit the Middle East in January to press the
Israelis and Palestinians to restart installed peace talks. A
senior official in Jerusalem said both sides are waiting for Bush's
visit in the hope that the U.S. leader will push the process
towards a breakthrough.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2007)
