Olmert, Abbas meet on Palestinian soil

updated 2:31 p.m. ET Aug. 6, 2007

JERICHO, West Bank - Ehud Olmert on Monday became the first Israeli prime minister to visit a Palestinian town since the outbreak of fighting seven years ago, meeting under heavy guard with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to talk about the creation of a Palestinian state.

Olmert, who began his visit by saying he came to discuss “fundamental issues,” took a security risk in coming to the biblical desert town, but also gave a symbolic boost to Abbas, who stands to gain stature by hosting Olmert on his own turf.

Accompanied by two helicopters, Olmert arrived by motorcade at a five-star hotel just a few hundred yards from a permanent Israeli army checkpoint on the outskirts of Jericho. The two men embraced outside the hotel, with Olmert telling Abbas in English, “I’m delighted to see you.”

The meeting ended three hours later, and Olmert’s convoy left Jericho.

Both sides said the meeting was “constructive,” but made no announcements of significant progress.

Abbas “did not come to the meeting with a magic wand, and neither did Mr. Olmert,” Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said at a news conference. “There is an agreement on a series of meetings to discuss the issues, including the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

David Baker, an Olmert spokesman, said the leaders did not discuss the core issues of the conflict or conduct negotiations.

“Both sides decided to expand the contents of their discussions in order to advance the understandings ... to allow further progress to be made for the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Baker said.

Conflicting expectations?
The meeting was held in one of the West Bank’s most peaceful areas. However, it posed a challenge to Olmert’s security detail, since Abbas’ security forces in the West Bank are still weak. Abbas’ troops failed to prevent Hamas militants from seizing the Gaza Strip by force in June.

The meeting also tested renewed Israeli-Palestinian security coordination in the West Bank, following the fall of Gaza to Hamas. The Israeli army sealed checkpoints around Jericho, while Palestinian police blocked roads around the hotel.

The Abbas-Olmert meeting is one in a series of sessions, meant to prepare for an international Mideast conference in the U.S. in November.

However, both sides appear to have conflicting expectations.

The Palestinians hope the two leaders will sketch the outlines of a final peace deal, to be presented to the U.S. conference, Erekat said.

The four core issues of a future peace deal are the final borders of a Palestinian state, a division of Jerusalem, a removal of Israeli settlements, and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

“What they need to do is to establish the parameters for solving all these issues,” Erekat said. “Once the parameters are established, then it can be deferred to experts” for drafting.

However, Olmert suggested a slower pace.

“I came here in order to discuss with you the fundamental issues outstanding between Israel and the Palestinian Authority hoping that this will lead us soon into negotiations about the creation of a Palestinian state,” he said at the start of the talks, flanked by Israeli and Palestinian flags with Abbas standing beside him.

Effort to ease West Bank life
Baker had said earlier the leaders would discuss humanitarian aid to the Palestinians and Israeli security concerns, as well as the institutions of a future Palestinian state.

He said the meeting was a signal of Israeli good will, adding that Olmert “intends for this to be a productive meeting to enable progress with the Palestinians.”

Both sides said the meeting would also deal with easing daily life in the West Bank, including the removal of some of the checkpoints erected after the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in September 2000.

Abbas and Olmert previously agreed to try to restore the situation to what it was before the uprising, including returning full Palestinian control over West Bank towns and cities.

The Israeli daily Haaretz on Monday quoted Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as telling Israeli officials that his security forces aren’t ready yet to assume control of Palestinian towns. Fayyad’s aides were not immediately available for comment, but a senior Palestinian security official in the West Bank town of Bethlehem confirmed that assessment.

The Israeli military has been slow to dismantle roadblocks and ease control over Palestinian towns, citing concerns that Abbas’ forces are not strong enough to prevent attacks on Israelis.

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