Sharon likely to meet with Abu Mazen toward end of week

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) are likely to meet towards the end of this week, before Sharon departs for Washington. Israel Radio reported that Abu Mazen agreed to meet with Sharon, and that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who met with both Sharon and Abu Mazen on advancing the road map peace initiative, was involved in promoting the meeting.

Abu Mazen laid out a string of demands on Sunday, saying Israel had to accept the road map as is, end settlements and assassinations, free security prisoners, and ensure freedom of movement for Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

Abu Mazen, who said the Palestinian Authority was willing to fight terror but that it also had demands of Israel, made his comments at a joint press conference with Powell, following their meeting in Jericho.

Referring to the creation of the post of prime minister, Powell said that the Palestinians had already taken some "important and encouraging" steps. But he said they had to "move quickly to dismantle" the terror infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Powell said Israel had to "ease the lives" of Palestinians and "respect their dignity."

Trying to skirt conditions raised by both sides for progress on the political front, Powell urged Israelis and Palestinians to "get started."

"There will be more than enough time in the future to discuss the more contentious issues. But right now let's get started... let's not get distracted by items that can be debated at a later time."

Powell said that the U.S. had committed $50 million to boost roads, jobs and small businesses in the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli officials said Sunday night that Israel will readmit 25,000 Palestinian workers after an extended ban and free about 180 prisoners in goodwill gestures.

The officials said that the Defense Ministry made the decisions after discussions with Powell on ways to begin implementing confidence-building measures.

An official said the workers would be able to reenter Israel from Monday morning.

Powell calls on Palestinians to take 'decisive action' against terrorEarlier Sunday, at a joint press conference with Sharon, after the two met in Jerusalem, Powell called on the Palestinians to take "decisive action" against terror groups in order to move the peace process forward.

"We welcome the positive steps, political steps already taken by Palestinian officials towards reform and towards peace, but we must also see rapid, decisive action by the Palestinians to disarm and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure," Powell said at a joint press conference with the prime minister.

"Without such action, our best efforts will fail," he said.

Powell said that he and Sharon also discussed settlements and illegal outposts, and that they would continue to do so.

The secretary of state called Sharon's ideas to ease the conditions on the Palestinian people "very promising and very hopeful." Neither the prime minister nor Powell gave any specifics regarding the steps to be taken.

"A genuine war against terror by the Palestinians involving real effort to prevent terror is the key to progress in the political process," Powell added. "Quiet and security for the Israeli people will lead to Israeli measures that will create a new and better reality for the Palestinian population."

Sharon had been expected to present Powell with a list of measures Israel would undertake to ease restrictions on the Palestinians, a move the secretary of state wants in order to aid newly-appointed Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen.

The measures include releasing several dozen Palestinian prisoners in administrative detention; easing restrictions on the movement of merchandise in and out of Palestinian Authority territory; and widening the fishing areas in the Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported.

The security establishment is preparing to release some 200 Palestinians prisoners being held by Israel by Monday. Palestinian sources in the Ketziot prison in southern Israel that preparations were made Sunday morning to release 61 of the prisoners.

Mofaz: Israel prepared to pull back forces in northern GazaEarlier, Powell held separate meetings with President Moshe Katsav and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ahead of his meeting with Sharon. Mofaz updated the secretary of state on the West Bank shooting attack near Ofra, in which an Israeli was killed, and the recent wave of Qassam rockets being fired from the Gaza Strip.

Mofaz said that Israel is prepared to pull back forces from some positions in the northern Gaza Strip and transfer security authority for these areas to the Palestinian Authority. He emphasized, however, that Israel would demand that the Palestinians work to uproot terror organizations and the infrastructure for producing weapons.

He stressed that Israel does not accept the proposal for a cease-fire and that it would continue to fight terror until the Palestinians begin a real war against it.

Mofaz told Powell that Abu Mazen faces two obstacles: terror organizations - Hamas and Islamic Jihad - and efforts by Yasser Arafat to torpedo diplomatic efforts.

	Secretary of State Colin Powell and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during their joint press conference Sunday in Jerusalem. (Reuters)