At the end of the 90 minutes meeting the Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas called for an end to the ‘armed Intifada’ and an end to attacks on Israelis ‘wherever they may be’ he added ‘we must restore to peaceful means to achieve our goals’.
Sharon, speaking after Abbas said ”It is in Israel’s interest not to govern the Palestinians, but for the Palestinians to govern themselves in their own state. A democratic Palestinian state fully at peace with Israel will promote the longterm security and well-being of Israel as a Jewish state. There can be no peace, however, without the abandonment and elimination of terrorism, violence and incitement.’ He added ‘We can also reassure our Palestinian partners that we understand the importance of territorial continuity in the West Bank for a viable Palestinian state.’ He declared ‘We accept the principle
that no unilateral actions by any parties can pre-judge the outcome of our negotiations.’
Sharon also stated that he ‘will begin immediately to remove unauthorized outposts’
Bush, closing the round, declared that He and Americans were committed to Israel’s secuirity as a ‘vibrant Jewish state.’ He sssured Abbas of his ‘strong support for the cause of freedom and statehood for the Palestinians’ .
Bush stated that:’ all present shared a goal, a Holy Land shared by two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side. He also urged an end to incitement to hatred’ Bush also named U.S. Assistant secretary of state John Wolf to serve as the head of a team to monitor progress both sides make towards ending 32 months of violence and ultimately towards a two stae solution’
The Israeli request for a Palestinian recognition of ‘Israel as a Jewish state’ was address by President Bush affirming a commitment to the security of Israel as a ‘vibrant Jewish state’
Abas, comment calling for ‘end to attacks on Israelis ‘wherever they may be’, can mean further difficult negotiations with HAMAS concerning accepting a timely truce. Abdul Aziz El-Rantisi, prominent Hamas leader said: ‘Hamas says will not lay down arms despite appeal from Palestinian PM Abbas at Aqaba summit’ on the other hand another HAMAS leader Ismael Abushanab requested American assurances for a Palestinian state and expressed HAMAS’s willingness to declare a truce. ‘While the call for ending attacks against Israelis inside Israel looks acceptable from the side of Palestinian opposition groups, ending the resistance inside the Palestinian occupied territories is still disputed’ commented source close to HAMAS.
In an immediate reaction to Sharon’s statement, Settlers` Yesha Council called Aqaba summit humiliating, and claimed that ‘Israeli governmentt has surrendered to Palestinian terror’
The discussion around the 120 ‘illegal settlers outposts prior to Sharon’s ‘vow to remove illegal settlers outposts’ indicates that in practical terms, around 10 ‘provocative’ outposts only will be removed, while according to Israeli sources, 91 outposts will be legalized.
