Israel, PA to renew contact on security matters

Israel wishes to renew dialogue and cooperation with the Palestinian Authority through joint committees which were established after the Sharm al-Sheikh summit two months ago, senior government sources said Saturday.

The Israeli and Palestinian committees halted their joint work shortly after they were set up. The head of the Israeli committee and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's advisor, Dov Weissglas is meant to meet his counterpart Saeb Erekat on Sunday or Monday in order to finalize arrangements for the renewed cooperation.

The joint committees are meant to coordinate security arrangements, the transfer of PA towns to Palestinian hands, the release of Palestinian prisoners and the prevention of incitement. Several of the committees met for a brief period of time, while others never met at all.

In addition, the two parties were meant to establish joint economics committees to coordinate Israel's evacuation of the Gaza Strip settlements, known as the disengagement plan.

According to plans, these committees will be administered by Vice Premier Shimon Peres and Mohammed Dahlan. The Palestinians are yet to agree to the structure of the disengagement committees and it is unclear whether the Gaza pullout will be coordinated by joint Israeli-Palestinian teams or performed unilaterally by Israel.

The renewal of the talks is considered as one of the consequences of Sharon's recent trip to the United States and his meeting with President George W. Bush.

The U.S. demanded that Israel work to strengthen PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and also pressured the PA to cooperate with Israel ahead of the disengagement.

Fayyad visits Washington for meeting with government officialsPalestinian Authority Finance Minister Salem Fayyad left for Washington Saturday for talks with government officials following the Bush Sharon summit last week.

American envoys Elliot Abrams and David Walsh will visit the region Monday in order to assess the state of PA Chairman Abbas' regime and to find ways of strengthening his rule. The two will hold separate meetings with Sharon.