The U.S. administration demanded the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to crack down on the Islamic Jihad movement, in the wake of the latest attacks and counter attacks in the region, Israeli sources said on Tuesday.
‘Palestinian President Abbas earned the trust of his people when he was elected on a platform of peace this past January. Now the Palestinian Authority must make good on that promise by fighting terrorism,’ White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley said in prepared remarks for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) National Summit 2005 in Los Angeles.
ÂÂ
Hadley made a specific reference to the latest Islamic Jihad bombing in the costal Israeli city of Hadera, but failed to mention the series of assassinations Israel carried out against Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian resistance fighters before and after the Hadera bombing.
ÂÂ
‘We have made it very clear to him, especially in the wake of the vicious attack in Hadera, that he should begin by acting promptly and forcefully against Palestinian Islamic Jihad,’ he said.
ÂÂ
On the other hand, Palestinians expressed disappointment over the level of coordination between the PA and Israel over some important issues.
ÂÂ
Palestinian Minister of Planning Ghassan Khatib, who is in charge of coordinating post-disengagement Gaza issues with Israel, expressed ‘deep frustration’ with Israel’s ‘refusal to coordinate in good faith’ adding that Israel is planning to control Palestinian travel movement to and from Egypt without coordinating with the Palestinians.
ÂÂ
‘In recent meetings, Israel called for live transmissions to monitor crossings, veto power over persons and goods traveling through Rafah, or agreements with Egypt, rather than Palestinians, to ensure ultimate Israeli control,’ al-Khatib said.
ÂÂ
A written statement issued by the PA negotiations department said that a high-level meeting between Palestinians and Israelis over the Rafah crossing point between Egypt and Gaza concluded without agreement.
ÂÂ
The statement said that since Israel concluded the evacuation of its settlers from the Gaza Strip on September 12, it tightened its control over all entry and exit points to the Gaza Strip, including the Rafah crossing.
ÂÂ
The PA seeks joint control over the Rafah crossing, with the presence of a third party, while Israel had earlier announced that it accepted European Union representation at the crossing.
However, there will be four parties monitoring the travel of Palestinians from and to Egypt on Rafah crossing terminal.  Palestinians and Egyptians on one hand, Europeans and Israeli surveillance cameras on the other hand.
ÂÂ
Israel, however, continues to press for full control over the flow of people and goods between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
ÂÂ
Palestinians argue that Israel has nothing to do with a Palestinian-Egyptian crossing point.
ÂÂ
The Rafah crossing with Egypt is one of many unsettled issues since Israel’s evacuation of the Gaza Strip – the overland crossing points of Erez and Karni, which are the only two ways to provide access to the Gaza Strip for the West Bank residents, are also unresolved.
ÂÂ
‘Such issues are still outstanding. Although the World Bank has invited the parties to hold meetings on Karni and Erez over the past six weeks, Israel has refused to convene this tripartite committee,’ al-Khatib said.
