Israel's Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has ordered the lifting of the closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip at midnight Saturday, ahead of a planned three-way summit comprised of U.S. President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud
Abbas (Abu Mazen) in the Jordanian port city of
Aqaba on June 4.
The decision was taked after Sharon and Mofaz held a series of telephone consultations about how to implement the confidence-building measures that Sharon had promised to
undertake after his Thursday meeting with Abu Mazen.
Some 15,000 Palestinian workers and businessmen with permits will be allowed to enter Israel due to the lifting of the closure. In the course of the coming week, Israel is expected to release about 100 Palestinian detainees.
Meanwhile, the PLO executive committee, which met to discuss the results of the Sharon-Abu Mazen summit, issued a statement saying that the gestures are not a replacement for the exact implementation of the road map, "primarily the halting of Israeli military operations in the territories, specifically the targeted assassinations and arrests."
The PLO meeting was headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and attended by Abu Mazen.
The meeting stressed that “it is necessary to act to implement all the elements of the roadmap” and said that the Palestinian leadership “is ready to implement the Palestinian obligations in parallel with the implementation of the Israeli obligations.” (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
