Abbas 'to test' Israel peace pledge

Abbas: Palestinians must "see change on the ground"

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, more commonly known as Abu Mazen, has said that he is ready to test Israel's commitment to the US-backed roadmap peace plan for the Middle East.

In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Mr Abbas said he would believe Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's intentions "only when he implements the roadmap".

"The implementation is the only test as far as I'm concerned," he said.

Abu Mazen, who met Mr Sharon on Thursday ahead of a trilateral summit in Jordan with US President George W Bush next week, added that it was important that Israel halted its policy of the targeted killing of Palestinian militants and eased restrictions on Palestinian civilians.

"If we go back to the cycle of reaction and action, that will make it difficult for us to achieve the goal," Abu Mazen told the newspaper.

"It is important that the Palestinians see change on the ground, like the cessation of the assassinations and demolitions [of houses] and prisoners being freed."

The Israelis in turn say there can be no progress until attacks against Israelis have completely stopped.

Moving forward

Abu Mazen also defended Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who has been politically isolated by the US and Israel.

"It is absolutely not permitted for Arafat to be isolated," he said.

"It is difficult for me to explain to the people that we have a new government which is carrying on open negotiations with Israel while at the same time our president is isolated in the Muqataa [Mr Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah]."

Thursday's meeting between Abu Mazen and Mr Sharon was the first high-level Israeli-Palestinian contact since the Israeli cabinet agreed on Sunday to back the roadmap.

It was their second meeting since Abu Mazen took office on 30 April.

Israeli reservations

Mr Sharon on Tuesday also clarified comments made on Monday in which he referred to keeping 3.5 million Palestinians under "occupation" as bad for both sides.

ROADMAP MAIN POINTS

Phase 1 (to May 2003): End to Palestinian violence; Palestinian political reform; Israeli withdrawal and freeze on settlement expansion; Palestinian elections

Phase 2: (June-Dec 2003) Creation of an independent Palestinian state; international conference and international monitoring of compliance with roadmap

Phase 3 (2004-2005): Second international conference; permanent status agreement and end of conflict; agreement on final borders, Jerusalem, refugees and settlements; Arab states to agree to peace deals with Israel

Roadmap full text

Can Mid-East roadmap work?

The unprecedented use of the word "occupation" with reference to the West Bank and Gaza by a right-wing Israeli prime minister stunned Mr Sharon's supporters in Israel.

Mr Sharon said he had meant that "it is undesirable for us to rule over a Palestinian population", adding that his legal advisers had reminded him that the position adopted by Israel was that West Bank and Gaza are "disputed territories" rather than "occupied territories", Haaretz reported.

"We are not occupiers," he was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.

"This is the homeland of the Jewish people."

Israel has expressed 14 reservations regarding the roadmap, mostly on security issues, although one reservation provides that only the US oversees implementation of the peace plan.

As well as holding talks with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers in Jordan next week, Mr Bush will attend a separate summit with a number of Arab leaders, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Jordanian Information Minister Mohammed Adwan said.