Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart met for three hours late Thursday to discuss the implementation of the internationally-brokered road map to Middle East peace. The meeting was held in Sharon's office in Jerusalem.
Israeli and Palestinian officials convened ahead of the meeting Thursday afternoon to prepare for the talks between
the two leaders.
Just before the meeting in Jerusalem, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said any Palestinian cease-fire deal with Hamas to stop attacks on Israeli targets must also include steps to disarm and dismantle "terrorist infrastructure."
"Should the Palestinians declare a cease-fire it must be accompanied by parallel steps to disarm and dismantle terrorists and terrorist infrastructure," Fleischer stated.
Earlier, Abbas told the Hebrew Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that he expected to reach an agreement with Hamas for a complete halt to attacks on Israelis by next week. "Hamas will commit to halting terrorism both within the Green Line and in the territories," Abbas was quoted as saying. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
