Israeli sources reported on Friday that the U.S secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, are angry with the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, for signing unity government deal with Hamas, and for assigning Ismail Haniyya as the head of the upcoming government.The Israeli TV, Channel 2, reported on Friday at night that political sources close to Olmert stated that “Olmert is very angry with Abbas for assigning Haniyya as the head of the upcoming government without waiting to hear the Israeli position during the trilateral summit next Monday”.
Channel 2 also said that Rice asked Olmert to wait until the summit before expressing his objection or point of view regarding the issue.
Channel 2 stated that Olmert and Rice are preparing “heavy files” to discuss with Abbas during the summit.
Meanwhile, the Hamas party said that Abbas should not attend the summit since Rice and Olmert will just be pressuring him to make concessions and void the unity government deal.
The Arabs48 news website reported that Olmert’s office expects that Abbas will attend the summit and tell Rice and Olmert that he “was authorized by Hamas to hold talks with Israel”, and that he will demands final status negotiations.
Officials at Olmert’s office said that Olmert is expected to tell Abbas that final status talks are impossible without a ceasefire and without disarming the Palestinian factions.
Yet, the office expects that Abbas will tell Olmert that Hamas is committed to the truce, and to stopping all attacks, but Olmert will tell then Abbas that Hamas always uses the truce in order to rearm, dig tunnels and smuggle rockets.
Olmert might be accompanied to the summit by the Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, and the Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni.
Senior Israeli military and security leaders held on Friday a meeting to evaluate the Mecca agreement between Fateh and Hamas, but failed to arrive to any recommendation regarding accepting or rejecting the deal.
The military and security leaders said that they cannot know whether this deal will lead to calm or further violence.
