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| Monday, 31 January 2005 |
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Abbas-Sharon summit set for February 8 JERUSALEM, Sunday (AFP) A breakthrough summit between new Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will take place on February 8, Israeli public radio said Sunday. Sharon spokesman Raanan Gissin said however that no specific date had been set, although the meeting would take place in the second week of February. Abbas met Sharon when he was prime minister under the leadership of the late Yasser Arafat in 2003 but the proposed summit would be the first encounter between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in more than four years. Sharon's government boycotted all contacts with Arafat. Israeli military radio said the final date for the summit would be set during discussions over the next few days between top Israeli and Palestnian officials. If it goes ahead on February 8, it would coincide with a visit to the region by new US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Meanwhile violence has dropped sharply after Abbas deployed his security forces in Gaza this week to stop gunmen. Israel said in response that it would reduce its militant operations. He is also negotiating with militants for a mutual truce with Israel ahead of its planned pullout from Gaza this year. Abbas plans to ask Sharon for further steps, such as halting Israel's construction of Jewish settlements and its West Bank barrier, which cuts into land Palestinians want for a state, Palestinian cabinet minister Ghassen al-Khatib said. |
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