http://www.washtimes.com/world/20070327-122847-2983r.htm
Israel, Palestine leaders to meet regularly
March 27, 2007
12:28 p.m.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to meet every
two weeks to discuss day-to-day issues, a small step in a quickening diplomatic
pace that could lead to talks on a final peace settlement, Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice announced today.
After shuttling between the two sides for the past three days, Miss Rice
also said that an American general serving as her security envoy will try to
set benchmarks for a cease-fire, including halting rocket fire from Gaza and
improving the flow of Palestinian travelers and goods through Israeli
crossings.
"The Israelis and the Palestinians are taking the initial step on the path
to peace," Miss Rice said. "The American role will include helping them to
overcome obstacles, develop new ideas and rally international support for their
efforts."
Miss Rice said the first talks between the two leaders will be on practical
questions, not the so-called "final status" issues defining peace and security
between Israel and an independent Palestine. But she did not rule out formal
negotiations on those hard questions before President Bush leaves office in
less than two years.
The most difficult issues dividing Israel and the Palestinians include the
borders of an eventual Palestinian state, the fate of disputed Jerusalem and
the rights of Palestinians and their descendants who left land when Israel was
formed in 1948.
Miss Rice praised Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas for flexibility and resolve, although both leaders have
balked at making overtures suggested by the United States.
"They achieved something, which is the very regularized meetings between
the two of them, in which they will not just talk about their day-to-day
issues, but also about a political horizon," Miss Rice said, speaking at a news
conference in Jerusalem.
A senior Israeli government official said that for now, Mr. Olmert will
only talk to Mr. Abbas about security and humanitarian issues, as well as a
"general political horizon," which was not further defined by Mr. Rice or
Israeli officials. Mr. Olmert will not discuss specifics, such as the borders
of a future Palestinian state, said the official who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
Miss Rice called on Arab states to hold contacts with Israel, and said
peacemaking was made "more complex" by Hamas' presence in the government with
Abbas. Israel, the United States and the European Union count Hamas as a terror
group.
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