BICOM

Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad chose not to attend his planned meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, with the Palestinian delegation being led by negotiator Saeb Erekat. In a ninety-minute meeting at the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, Netanyahu and his chief negotiator Yitzhak Molcho met with Erekat and the head of the Palestinian Authority military intelligence, General Majad Faraj.

Although there was no official reason given for Fayyad’s absence, he is believed to have been unhappy with the initiative, and to have felt that his involvement would embarrass him. The purpose of the meeting was for the Palestinians to deliver a letter from Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to the Israelis. Originally the letter was to threaten the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority, but under international pressure, its content was watered down. PLO Executive Committee member Yasser Abed Rabbo, who was also expected to meet Netanyahu, also decided not to attend, apparently because the meeting was taking place on Palestinian Prisoners’ Day. Several hundred Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails announced the start of a hunger strike yesterday, calling for improved conditions.

Within two weeks, Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molcho will deliver an Israeli letter to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, outlining Israeli positions in an attempt to restart stalled talks between the sides. In an agreed joint statement following yesterday’s meeting, the parties said “Israel and the Palestinian Authority are committed to achieving peace. Both sides hope that this exchange of letters will help find a way to advance peace.”