Date set for Abbas-Sharon meeting
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas are to meet on 11 October, the office of Jordan’s King Abdullah II said after undertaking mediation efforts.
“Following the good offices of King Abdullah to push forward the peace process, the Palestinian president and the Israeli prime minister will meet on 11 October to find a solution to pending problems,” a statement issued in Amman on Wednesday said.
It did not say where the meeting would take place. The encounter comes after planned summit meeting between the pair on 2 October was cancelled following an escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip.
The Jordanian monarch telephoned Abbas and Sharon separately on Wednesday evening and underscored “the importance to work to guarantee a lull and put an end to the tension between the two parties”, the statement said.
King Abdullah told the two leaders leaders that he still planned on travelling to Israel and the Palestinian territories as previously announced by Jordan and that the visit would take place “when circumstances are adequate”.
Palestinian and Israeli officials did not confirm the date, AP reported.
A senior Israeli government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the timetable is not final, said he was unaware that any date had been set.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said he would meet with senior Sharon aide Dov Weisglass on Friday to discuss the summit agenda, and that he hoped they would set a date for the leaders’ meeting then.