FM Shalom: Egypt not doing enough to curb weapons flow.

By Aluf Benn and Arnon Regular


Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Saturday that Egypt is not doing enough to prevent the flow of weapons from its territory into the Palestinian Authority through the Rafah crossing between Sinai and the Gaza Strip. In an interview with Israel Radio, Shalom said Israel is very disturbed by the matter and expressed hope that Egypt would act with greater determination. In addition, Shalom said he opposes further arming the PA with more rifles. "They don't have an ammunition problem but their problem is a lack of will  to make a strategic decision to fight Hamas," Shalom said. He emphasized  there would be no more unilateral withdrawals and that Israel would not lose more assets without receiving anything in return. Following Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will  consult with Vice Premier Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz over  Israel's position on the governing of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and  the Gaza Strip. The meeting is slated to determine Israel's stance on the freedom of  movement of people and goods as well as whether to accommodate the flow  through Kerem Shalom or Nitzana crossings, Israel Radio reported Saturday. The three are also expected to resolve the question of what role foreign  observers will carry out at Rafah. Following the meeting, Israel will notify the United States, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, and the Quartet of its decisions, according to Israel Radio. Top aides to Sharon and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held the first of a series of meetings on Friday, ahead of an upcoming summit between the two leaders. Dov Weissglas and Saeb Erekat held talks for more than two hours in Tel Aviv in order to iron out the details of the summit. They reported progress regarding security arrangements at Egypt-Gaza border involving the establishment of two joint professional bodies to work out the arrangements for the border crossing. Weissglas and Erekat agreed Friday to hold a further round of talks ahead of the summit next week. The frontier crossing, which is for human traffic, will be jointly run by Egypt and the PA, with supervision by European Union inspectors and surveillance systems that will convey information to the Israeli side. During a security coordination meeting Thursday, Erekat and Brigadier General Amos Gilad (res.) agreed to set up the two bodies, one of which will deal with security issues and the other with customs and excise. The two bodies will begin work on Sunday, the sides agreed.

The progress on the border arrangements coincided with the arrival of  Quartet envoy and former World Bank president James Wolfensohn, who returned  to the region Thursday. He was to meet Friday with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz for general talks, and is to hold a similar meeting with Abbas in the near future. The leaders' summit is likely to take place Tuesday, less than 10 days after their planned meeting was canceled due to a flare-up in violence in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian sources, there is a "real chance" that Jordanian King Abdullah II will also attend the Sharon-Abbas talks, although the issue has not yet been settled. The sides want to reach understandings on the most pressing issues, including Israel's demands that the Palestinians rein in militants and the  Palestinian demand that Israel release prisoners before the summit, said Erekat, the top Palestinian negotiator. "We don't want a failed summit. We want a successful summit, we want to agree on the substance," Erekat said ahead of the meeting. The meeting Friday covered details of the summit, terms of release for long-term Palestinians prisoners and the further withdrawal of Israeli troops from West Bank cities. Meanwhile, Israeli government sources said ahead of the talks that Israel will consider what steps it can take to ease the situation for the Palestinians. They said this week that Sharon was not likely to approve transferring ammunition to the PA's security forces. But Israel Radio reported Friday that the Israel Defense Forces planned to recommend that Israel approve the ammunition transfer. Among topics expected to be on the agenda of the Sharon-Abbas summit are the renewal of talks on the operation of border crossings from the PA to Israel, the future of the crossing point between the Gaza Strip and Sinai, and the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreements for the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from the West Bank towns and the freeing of Palestinian prisoners. Israel will reiterate its demand that the Palestinians put a halt to terror and will express its opposition to allowing Hamas to participate in Palestinian parliamentary elections. The last meeting between the two leaders was held on June 21, when they agreed to coordinate the implementation of the disengagement plan. Since then, apart from a few telephone conversations, they have not been in touch. Abbas is due to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington on October 20, and both sides have expressed their wishes to demonstrate  diplomatic progress before then.