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Meeting between Abbas and Sharon cancelled: Palestinians
Jerusalem, Aug 05: Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas cancelled a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon due to take place later this week over Israel`s reluctance to implement the roadmap, a Palestinian source close to Abbas told early today.
Jerusalem, Aug 05: Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas cancelled a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon due to take place later this week over Israel's reluctance to implement the roadmap, a Palestinian source close to Abbas told early today.
"Abu Mazen (Abbas) cancelled the meeting because he
sees no serious sign from the Israelis about implementing the
roadmap," the source said on condition of anonymity, saying a
central issue was Israel's reluctance to free a significant
number of Palestinian prisoners.
The meeting, which was due to take place tomorrow, was to have been the third bilateral meeting between the two prime ministers who last met in Jerusalem on July 20 before embarking on separate visits to Washington for talks with US President George W Bush.
"The Israelis would only use this event to exploit the release of only 400 or so prisoners, most of whom had already finished their sentences," he said.
Israel said Sunday it would free 442 Palestinian prisoners later this week, a number that fell well short of thousands of releases eagerly awaited by the Palestinians.
Israel's cabinet said early last week that 540 Palestinian prisoners were slated for release.
Around 80 prisoners, all of whom had reached the end of their prison term, were released last week, and another 20 or so of the original number are still being checked by Israel's shin bet internal security services, an Israeli source said late Sunday.
Bureau Report
The meeting, which was due to take place tomorrow, was to have been the third bilateral meeting between the two prime ministers who last met in Jerusalem on July 20 before embarking on separate visits to Washington for talks with US President George W Bush.
"The Israelis would only use this event to exploit the release of only 400 or so prisoners, most of whom had already finished their sentences," he said.
Israel said Sunday it would free 442 Palestinian prisoners later this week, a number that fell well short of thousands of releases eagerly awaited by the Palestinians.
Israel's cabinet said early last week that 540 Palestinian prisoners were slated for release.
Around 80 prisoners, all of whom had reached the end of their prison term, were released last week, and another 20 or so of the original number are still being checked by Israel's shin bet internal security services, an Israeli source said late Sunday.
Bureau Report