Palestinians to call for extraordinary Arab summit in case agreement with Israel fails

Israel will not occupy Gaza without intl. guarantees

Jordanian monarch, Russian president discuss possibility of holding new peace conf.

Palestinian cause tops UAE president's talks with Egyptian, Palestinian counterparts

Palestinian President’s Political Adviser Nimr Hammad expressed astonishment over the statements made by Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon who said “Israel was not aiming for a peace treaty with the Palestinians this year, but only a declaration of principles.”

“The declaration of principles was announced in 1993 and we completely rejected the idea when it was presented during the Annapolis conference,” Hammad added.

“Everyday Israelis make new statements and this shows they do not want peace,” he added.

Responding on a question if the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) failed to reach to an agreement with Israel, Hammd said “we will discuss the whole issue with all Arab countries and will call to hold an extraordinary Arab summit.”

Haim Ramon had said that “the Jewish state was not aiming for a peace treaty with the Palestinians this year, but only a declaration of principles.” "I believe it is possible to reach a declaration of principles ... Nobody is expecting a detailed agreement on the first of January," Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon told reporters.

At a US-hosted meeting in Annapolis in November, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas agreed to try to conclude a peace deal by the end of 2008.

And in his annual State of the Union speech last month, US President George W. Bush reiterated his hopes of reaching a peace agreement this year.

"I assured leaders from both sides that America will do, and I will do, everything we can to help them achieve a peace agreement that defines a Palestinian state by the end of this year," he said.

But Ramon, Olmert's closest government ally, appeared to scale down hopes of reaching a comprehensive deal.

"I believe President Bush is expecting a declaration of principles. If it will be more detailed or less detailed is less important," he said.

"Nobody is really expecting a very detailed (agreement) until the last detail between Israel and the Palestinians. It has to be detailed enough in order to implemented in the years after 2008, two or three years after."

Last month, top Israeli and Palestinian negotiators began talks on the thorniest issues at the heart of the Middle East conflict, but Ramon said the declaration of principles will only include an outline of their solution.

"In a declaration of principles, you will have to deal with the issue of Jerusalem, for example. You have to say what will be in Jerusalem but not in details, not what will be exactly in the Old City and so and so forth. It is the same things about refugees, about borders," Ramon said.

On the other hand, Haim Ramon said a "combination of steps" could topple the Gaza Strip's Hamas leaders within months.

"I believe a combination of steps against Hamas in Gaza will bring an end to the Hamas regime in Gaza," Ramon told reporters. "They will not last. It will take a few months, maybe it will take a year."

Ramon said he was recommending to the cabinet that it step up its campaign against Hamas Islamists, who seized control of the Gaza Strip in June, by targeting all Hamas leaders who are "directly or indirectly" involved in attacks against Israelis.

He also said Israel should respond to cross-border attacks by immediately attacking areas in the coastal territory from where rockets are launched and by tightening restrictions on supplies of electricity and fuel to Gaza.

Haim Ramon ruled out launching a wide-scale land military operation against the Gaza Strip, noting that Israel would continue military and economic pressures on the Gaza Strip in a bid to halt Palestinian rocket attacks.

In statements to Israel Radio, Ramon said such pressures would fruit at the end, underscoring that such tactics aimed mainly at getting Hamas to cease fire.

There was no need to negotiate with Hamas, he added.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered Thursday the army to close all border terminals in the Gaza Strip until Hamas stop rocket attacks against Israeli targets.

The Israeli government decided at the current stage to concentrate on the assassination operations to include all military leaders, including Mohammed al-Gabi, leader of the military wing of Hamas, who is directly involved in kidnapping Israeli soldier Gilaad Shalit.

Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised to protect Israeli communities targeted by Palestinian rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.

"Our forces have been authorized to act to change the situation so that the inhabitants of Sderot and other Israeli towns targeted by Palestinian rockets can live in security," he said during the weekly meeting of the Israeli cabinet.

"It will not happen in a single day. It will need time, but I believe it is possible," he said.

Militants in the Gaza Strip fire dozens of rockets daily into Israel, causing little damage and few casualties but unnerving and angering the population. Israeli responses, ranging from military incursions and air strikes to cutting off power and supplies to the residents of the enclave controlled by the radical Islamic movement Hamas have so far failed to stop the barrage.

Olmert ruled out launching a widespread ground offensive in Gaza but warned that no one from Hamas was immune to Israeli strikes in the isolated coastal territory.

The Israeli military is preparing for a large-scale operation in Gaza in response to repeated rocket attacks on the city of Sderot, the defense minister said.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Knesset that the Israeli military is preparing several responses to rocket attacks, including the ensuing ramifications of such operations, The Jerusalem Post said.

Barak praised the Israeli military saying it was active and ready.

Sderot residents marched Sunday on Jerusalem calling for a viable response to the rocket attacks following several injuries.

Also, Israeli military officials said last week a large-scale ground invasion of Gaza would pave the way for the intervention of an international peacekeeping force modeled after the U.N. observer mission in Lebanon.

Delegates of the Arab League member-states met to prepare for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Arab and Latin American countries in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Feb. 20.

"Sunday's meeting aimed to study a draft declaration to be issued by the ministerial meeting," said Ibrahim Mohieddin, director of Americas department at the pan-Arab body.

The Buenos Aires Declaration will tackle a number of issues of mutual concern as well as cooperation in the economic, social, scientific, technological and cultural fields.

Mohieddin said that Arab-Latin relations have leaped since the 2005 Arab-Latin summit in Brazil.

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin probed with Jordanian King Abdullah II means of reaching a Middle East settlement.

During the meeting, Putin noted that the Jordanian-Russian relations were developing, especially in the military field.

Abdullah lauded the progress realized in bilateral relations during the past period saying that they surpassed expectations. He also thanked Putin for inviting him to visit Moscow.

Russia's key international role positively affected the Russian-Jordanian relations, the Jordanian monarch said.

The two also discussed the possibility to hold an international peace conference like the one held in Annapolis to give a push to the stagnant peace process.

Meanwhile, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak held a session of talks with Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates.

They discussed a number of issues of mutual concern and ways to cement relations between the two countries especially in investment domains.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Supreme Commander of the UAE armed forces gave a dinner banquet in honor of the Egyptian leader.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that Egypt spares no effort to protect its borders.

In statements to chief editors of Egyptian newspapers and MENA on the presidential plane while in route to the United Arab Emirates, Mubarak said that Egypt rejects any foreign presence on its lands.

Egypt, he averred, will not allow any party to impose dictations regarding its internal affairs.

Egypt strongly rejects the siege imposed by Israel on the Palestinian people, Mubarak said. Egypt is exerting all efforts for easing the sufferings of the Palestinian people, he added.

Settling the issue of Rafah crossing, should be done in line with the agreement signed in 2005 between the Palestinian National Authority and the European Union, he said.

President Hosni Mubarak urged all parties Lebanon to reach a consensus over electing a new president for the country.

He underlined the importance of creating a favorable Arab atmosphere for holding the coming Arab summit, slated for March in Damascus.

Answering a question on US plans to launch a military strike against Iran, President Mubarak underlined his rejection of any military solution to the Iranian crisis with the United States.

He warned that any military action against Iran will trigger more global terrorism and will jeopardize US interests world-wide.

Mubarak warned of maintaining the US presence in Iraq. The continued presence of US and other foreign troops in Iraq will lead to more terrorist acts in the country and harm the security of the whole region, he said.

President Mubarak said that during his visit to the Emirates he will have talks with UAE Head of State Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nuhyyan on several Arab issues of common concern.

The Egyptian president underlined the importance of economic cooperation between the two countries.

The UAE, he explained, comes first on the list of Arab investors in Egypt. He highlighted the necessity of further promoting joint economic and investment cooperation.

The Egyptian president discussed with leading UAE businessmen means of boosting economic cooperation between the two countries.

The talks addressed means of establishing joint ventures in various fields and encouraging Arab businessmen to benefit from investment facilities offered by Egypt and the UAE.

Mubarak's accompanying delegation includes Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit, Industry and Foreign Trade Minister Rashid Mohamed Rashid, Housing, Utilities and Urban Development Minister Ahmed el-Maghrabi, Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohiyeddin, Minister Omar Suleiman and chief of the presidential staff Zakaria Azmi.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he would not leave Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government over its handling of the 2006 Lebanon war, but would stay on to redress problems in the military that the fighting exposed.

Barak's decision, which had been expected, removed any immediate threat to the survival of Olmert's coalition as it pursues its declared goal of signing a peace treaty with the Palestinians this year. Barak had said before replacing the wartime defence minister, Amir Peretz, in June that he would push for Olmert's resignation or early elections after a war inquiry delivered its final report.

The report, delivered last Wednesday, left Olmert relatively unscathed, but criticized the government and the army for "serious failings and flaws."

"Why am I staying? I'm staying in the post of defence minister because I know what kind of challenges face Israel - Gaza, Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, the rehabilitation of the military and the political process," Barak said.

If Barak had pulled his Labor Party's 19-member faction out of the coalition, Olmert would have been stripped of his parliamentary majority and likely forced to move up elections, currently scheduled for November 2010. His coalition now controls 67 of parliament's 120 seats.

But with Labor trailing badly in public opinion polls, Barak apparently decided his party's political fortunes - and his own - would be better served by remaining in the government. Barak hopes to reclaim the premiership he lost in 2001 elections, but polls would hand the race to hawkish opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu of the hard-line Likud Party if balloting were held today.

A Netanyahu victory would bode poorly for U.S. President George W. Bush's goal of brokering a Mideast peace accord before leaving office next January.

Given the poll results, Barak's decision to remain in government had been expected, even at the cost of his credibility. "I know that I could pay a political price for this decision," he declared in announcing his plans before Israel's weekly Cabinet meeting.

Barak had broad Labor backing for his decision.

Olmert issued his first public pronouncement on the Lebanon war report at the start of that meeting, without addressing Barak's decision to remain in his government.

"This report is not a source of happiness," Olmert said. "It's the source of the possibility for an opportunity to correct things that were uncovered, to improve them and rebuild, if necessary, and lead Israel forward."

The war erupted on July 12, 2006, when Hezbollah guerrillas crossed into Israel, killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two others.

Olmert entered the conflict with enormous support from the Israeli public, but his popularity plunged after the month-long campaign failed to achieve his declared goals - winning the soldiers' release and crushing Hezbollah. The two soldiers have not been heard from.

Despite a heavy Israeli aerial campaign, Hezbollah bombarded northern Israel with nearly 4,000 rockets. Israeli reservists returning from the battlefield complained of poor training and a lack of ammunition and key supplies.

Between 1,035 and 1,191 Lebanese civilians and combatants were killed during the war, as were 119 Israeli soldiers and 40 civilians, according to official figures from both sides.

Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said that peace with Israel would follow the return to Syria of the strategic Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

"We are ready to establish a just and comprehensive peace in the region based on the application of UN Security Council resolutions," Muallem told a news conference with his visiting Austrian counterpart Ursula Plassnik. He said both sides must strive for peace and that Israel must be willing to return the key Golan plateau.

"Syria will examine the issue of security on the two sides of the (Syrian-Israeli) border and the normalization" of relations between the two countries, he said.

Israel occupied the Golan in the war of 1967 and unilaterally annexed the territory in 1981.

Syrian and Israeli leaders both said last year they were open to restarting peace talks, which broke down in 2000 because of disagreements over the Golan.