Abbas election does not herald peace

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By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
January 13, 2005

The holding of “Palestinian” elections and the selection of a leader the West insists is a moderate does not mean peace is right around the corner, Israeli officials said this week.

Jerusalem remains adamant the first step towards true peace is the curbing of anti-Jewish Arab terrorism by the Palestinian Authority.

Until newly elected PA leader Mahmoud Abbas proves he is ready to honor his commitment to eliminate the scourge of Islamic terror, Israel has no intention of restarting full-fledged negotiations.

Senior government officials raised the issue ahead of a visit by European Union foreign policy czar Javier Solana Thursday.

The EU is intent on accelerating the peace process following the death of Yasser Arafat and successful PA election.

But Israelis fear the push for a final status agreement would enable the “Palestinians” to bypass phase one of the Road Map and shirk their obligation to disarm and dismantle the terror groups operating out of PA-controlled territories.

“We don't want the Europeans to give off the impression that because there has been an election we can now start political negotiations. We are not there yet," one senior diplomatic official told The Jerusalem Post .

Israel, the official said, planned to tell Solana that there is no use "speeding things up for their own sake, and that Israel is looking for performance. The benchmark for moving forward is not because it is urgent, but because the Palestinian leadership is taking its commitments to fight terrorism seriously.”

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is expected to meet with Abbas in the coming weeks, but the government maintains these talks will focus solely on security matters.

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