Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., November 04, 2007 Cheshvan 23, 5768 | | Israel Time: 19:25 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Print Edition Diplomacy Defense Arts & Leisure Real Estate Jewish World National Advertising Magazine Week's End Business Opinion Rosner's Domain Anglo File Books Travel

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas meeting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch at his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Thursday. (AP) del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 10:13 04/11/2006 U.S. officials demand IAF cease overflights in Lebanese airspace By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service Two Bush administration officials demanded that Israel Air Force overflights of Lebanon be halted, saying that such flights undermine the standing of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The two U.S. diplomats, David Welch and Elliott Abrams, held short meetings Thursday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. The meeting with Olmert was dedicated to preparations for his visit to the United States and his meeting with President George W. Bush in 10 days' time. Advertisement A government source said that the two envoys did not put forth any new diplomatic initiative on behalf of the Bush administration. Olmert also met Thursday with visiting U.S. Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, who is in Israel as the guest of Mossad chief Meir Dagan. Negroponte's talks with Israeli intelligence officials are focusing on Iran and its nuclear program, a subject that will also preoccupy Bush and Olmert during their meeting in Washington. The talks with Welch and Abrams, in contrast, focused on the standing of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The U.S. diplomats said that Abbas is "exhibiting weakness," and the main question is whether it is possible to strengthen him - and if so, how. On Wednesday, the security cabinet authorized a plan put forward by the American security coordinator in the territories, General Keith Dayton, to bolster Palestinian security forces loyal to Abbas in the Gaza Strip. However, this authorization was only in principle, and Israel has yet to give a green light for either the delivery of additional arms to Abbas or the entry into Gaza of the Badr Brigade, a Palestine Liberation Organization force currently stationed in Jordan. The question of how to bolster Abbas was also at the center of a meeting of Quartet representatives in London last week. The participants - representing the U.S., European Union, Russia and the UN - discussed the implementation of three existing accords: a November 2005 agreement on the Gaza border crossings, the Sharm al-Sheikh understandings of February 2005, and the road map peace plan. They agreed that Israel should be asked to allow expanded operations at the Rafah and Karni crossings into Gaza, and also to enable free passage between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Israel will also be asked to remove the checkpoints that impede the free flow of traffic in the West Bank. Meanwhile, the British government is promoting a plan to bypass Hamas and strengthen the PA by bolstering four institutions directly answerable to Abbas: the border crossings authority, the monetary authority, the presidential guard and the legal system. Norway, for its part, is calling a conference of PA donor countries. Turkey postpones delegation's visit on Israeli-Palestinian industrial park Turkey has postponed a visit by a delegation from Ankara that was supposed to sign an agreement on developing a joint Israeli-Palestinian industrial park, in protest over the destruction two weeks ago of structures in the old industrial park during an Israel Defense Forces operation in the Gaza Strip. The IDF operation in the Erez industrial zone, on the Israel-Gaza border, was ordered by senior officers in the Gaza Division, and was not approved by the government. The Turks are furious over the destruction of the buildings, saying that this will delay the so-called "Ankara Project." Turkey was scheduled to assist Israel and the Palestinian Authority in setting up the zone, where small manufacturing plants are to operate. Bookmark to del.icio.us Remembering Rabin 150,000 gather in Tel Aviv to mark the 12th anniversary of Rabin's assassination. Bring on the big guns A U.S. judge okays defense request to subpoena Rice, Hadley in AIPAC trial.   1.   what olmert should say... 04:25  |  vik 03/11/06   2.   A lot to talk about here! 04:28  |  Angillilio 03/11/06   3.   Abbas is the Other Face of the Same Penny Coin 04:39  |  Joseph E . 03/11/06   4.   I think not 04:43  |  Gili 03/11/06   5.   Cloud 8.5 04:43  |  JJ 03/11/06   6.   No Pain No Game , The Road Map to Peace Can Wait 04:48  |  Joseph E . 03/11/06   7.   Siniora Gov`t is Not Israel and Neither USA Problem 04:55  |  Joseph E . 03/11/06   8.   Violation of Lebanese airspace 04:56  |  Steve Beikirch 03/11/06   9.   You Do Not Reward The Radical By Punishing The Moderate 05:00  |  Joseph E . 03/11/06   10.   More Hot Air 05:01  |  Rollin_Again 03/11/06   11.   WOW 05:05  |  Matt 03/11/06   12.   Leb Gov`t is Now Responsible to Udi and Eldad , Flip the Coin 05:05  |  Joseph E . 03/11/06   13.   David and Elliott Do Not Decide , Congress Decide 05:11  |  Joseph E . 03/11/06   14.   David and Elliot are Demanding Israel to Stop Fight Back Terror 05:18  |  Joseph E . 03/11/06   15.   Good luck Israel, save cry-baby Saniora and weak-knees Abbas 05:20  |  Mufasa 03/11/06   16.   PA and Pals Terror Are Using Gaza Old Industrial Park 05:24  |  Joseph E . 03/11/06   17.   Livni will cave as usual 05:33  |  dave 03/11/06   18.   SAME ALL AMERICAN POLICY, THE OIL MUST BE FLOWING WRONG WAY 05:37  |  Like it is 03/11/06   19.   Abbas Failed Sharm al-Sheikh understandings of February 2005 05:48  |  Joseph E . 03/11/06   20.   useless talk and nothing will result. keep flying 06:03  |  ralph 03/11/06   21.   Haaretz you should also switch and parallele 06:12  |  Joseph E . 03/11/06   22.   flights 06:58  |  gary 03/11/06   23.   This is how it would have gone down... 07:15  |  Johnboy 03/11/06   24.   American Duplicity 07:27  |  David ben Avraham 03/11/06   25.   If you dont 07:43  |  matt 03/11/06   26.   Mad dog 09:03  |  Clickfool 03/11/06   27.   Bush`s PR 09:37  |  George Goldman 03/11/06   28.   Tell my Government, the State Dept., to go to hell 09:43  |  Darren 03/11/06   29.   Overflights 09:54  |  Vital 03/11/06   30.   Dave 17 10:12  |  Guess who 03/11/06   31.   For Darren in Tampa # 28 10:17  |  Clickfool 03/11/06   32.   Darren, number 28 10:20  |  not another redneck 03/11/06   33.   Darren 28 10:22  |  Guess who 03/11/06   34.   # 28 Darren 10:46  |  Miami friend 03/11/06   35.   # 28 Darren, thank you 10:47  |  Josef 03/11/06   36.   #24 Harsh words from David 11:11  |  Johnboy 03/11/06   37.   Tell The Us to But Out! 11:40  |  Goyem 03/11/06   38.   like it is 12:03  |  annoyed american 03/11/06   39.   #28, #29, Yes, indeed, tell the US to butt out 13:10  |  Johnboy 03/11/06   40.   Drop Darren 28 on Iran 13:12  |  Liberal elitist mob 03/11/06   41.   ISRAEL IS GOING TO DO WHAT IT SEES FIT ANYWAY 13:50  |  Read and Lern 03/11/06   42.   As an American I am a shame of this stupidity 14:11  |  Gaspar Ferara 03/11/06   43.   IAF flights 14:17  |  Brod 03/11/06   44.   Party is over 14:33  |  Chris Linthwaite 03/11/06   45.   US should demand from Lebanon 100% fulfilment of UN resolution. 14:35  |  Vittorio 03/11/06   46.   US Backstabber Again 15:18  |  Sam Weinstein 03/11/06   47.   shoot `em down 15:24  |  dave 03/11/06   48.   U.S Officials? 15:52  |  Anne 03/11/06   49.   So Who Is Going To Monitor UNIFIL? 16:02  |  Yosemite Sam 03/11/06   50.   Silence your heart, Vittorio, 16:03  |  Mario Fiorito 03/11/06   51.   Israel stop violating Res 1701 16:08  |  Ray 03/11/06   52.   rights? heh 16:52  |  Space 03/11/06   53.   rights? heh 16:56  |  Space 03/11/06   54.   Listen to the US 17:06  |  Gus 03/11/06   55.   tell the bush boys to go to hell 17:15  |  rick 03/11/06   56.   #29 --- Sure, with pleasure 17:43  |  PR 03/11/06   57.   and israel has a price for this action two can play at this tactt 17:44  |  ralph 03/11/06   58.   Tell Bush to go to hell? 17:51  |  Clickfool 03/11/06   59.   Obey the US orelse... 18:08  |  northern neighbor 03/11/06   60.   An agreement only one side honors? 18:09  |  Polybios 03/11/06   61.   Israel and antisemitism 18:47  |  Paul 03/11/06   62.   No to external interference 19:41  |  Brod 03/11/06   63.   Overflights work 20:19  |  iliitchy 03/11/06   64.   no way until hizballah keeps its end. send these guys to them let 20:33  |  ralph 03/11/06   65.   #54 iliitchy 21:28  |  Boycott 03/11/06   66.   #55 Ralph 21:33  |  Boycott 03/11/06   67.   Vittorio 21:36  |  Dr Fan Culo 03/11/06   68.   Brod 21:46  |  jim 03/11/06   69.   US Stop spy sattelites over all countries NOW! 22:17  |  Ben 03/11/06   70.   US billions out of Israel 22:49  |  Nathan 03/11/06   71.   #42 Who monitors UNIFIL? 22:51  |  Johnboy 03/11/06   72.   American resentment of Israel 22:52  |  Nathan 03/11/06   73.   To Darren 22:56  |  Nathan 03/11/06   74.   Israel is the problem 22:59  |  Nathan 03/11/06   75.   To Joseph E . from Israel 23:06  |  Lebanese in Canada 03/11/06   76.   Reply to Darren 23:29  |  Abe 03/11/06   77.   Yes Please tell us to butt out 00:00  |  Guy From NYC 04/11/06   78.   Jim 00:26  |  Brod 04/11/06   79.   re: Joseph E 01:16  |  Paulo 04/11/06   80.   re: Yosemite #49 01:20  |  Paulo 04/11/06   81.