Sharon-Qorei Meeting Soon, Hamas Offers Olive Branch

Monday, November 3, 2003

IslamOnline.net & News Agencies

"There are neither external pressures being exercised on Hamas, and Egypt in particular, nor talks with Qorei to renew the truce. It is pointless to renew the truce, because it would play well in the hands of the Israeli government. The Zionist enemy, in effect, is paying the price for usurping and occupying our land."

-- Abdul Aziz-Rantissi, Palestinian resistance leader (Hamas)

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM -- IO
Israeli and Palestinian leaders edged towards the resumption of top-level contacts Monday, November 3, as the Hamas resistance movement put forward an initiative to spare Palestinian and Israeli civilians the "scourge of war".

A senior official traveling with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Moscow told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Monday that the Israeli Premier may meet his Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qorei "within days".

Palestinian sources also told AFP that Finance Minister Salam Fayad had met with Israel's Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz late last week, without giving details.

Israeli media also reported that the head of the internal security service Shin Beth had met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's national security advisor Jibril Rajoub over the weekend.

Rajoub, however, denied that he had met with Shin Beth's Avi Dichter, telling AFP that "I am not against meetings but I have not met with any Israeli official."

There have been increasing signs of a thaw in relations as the Palestinian Premier prepares to unveil an enlarged government later this week.

Qorei has made the securing of a mutual ceasefire with Israel the top priority of his new government and his efforts received a major boost late Sunday when the political leader of the Islamic Hamas movement said that it could halt its attacks on civilians in Israel if Israel stops attacking Palestinian civilians.

"It is possible that Hamas will propose during a meeting with Abu Alaa (Qorei) continuing the resistance but sparing civilians from both sides from the horrors of war," Abdul Aziz-Rantissi told AFP.
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Dan