BUSH CALLS SHARON, ABBAS TO ENCOURAGE PEACE TALKS

  Informe de Nathan Guttman and Arnon Regular en  “Ha´aretz” del 21.05.2003

WASHINGTON - U.S. President George Bush called Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday, reiterating his commitment to his June 24 two-state solution, and encouraging Abbas to combat terrorism.

Bush wants to meet with Sharon as soon as possible in order to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, sources in Washington said yesterday. And he is likely to invite Abbas to Washington in the near future for a separate meeting.

Israeli sources said Sharon is in no hurry to reschedule a meeting with Bush, which was originally planned for this week, preferring to wait until the current wave of terror has subsided. It was the spate of terror attacks over the weekend - five suicide bombings in less than 48 hours - that caused him to postpone his trip to Washington.

The Americans think that putting off the Bush-Sharon meeting for too long would cause the recent diplomatic momentum to falter, particularly if the wave of terror attacks continues, leading to a harsh Israeli response and a loss of confidence on both sides.

Yesterday, Bush held his first telephone conversation with Abbas (Abu Mazen). White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said that, during the 15-minute conversation, Bush reiterated that the Palestinian Authority must fight terror and prevent terror attacks. However, Fleischer said, the president stressed that Israel needs to take steps as well.

Abbas promised Bush that he is committed to fighting terror, Fleischer said, and State Department officials said the administration believes the commitment is sincere.

According to Palestinian sources, Abbas urged Bush to persuade Israel to lift its siege on PA Chairman Yasser Arafat and to stop blaming Arafat for the wave of terror attacks. He reiterated his demand that Israel publicly accept the road map. The sources said Abbas does not want to be the first Arab leader to meet the president following the war in Iraq.

Afterward, Bush telephoned Sharon, said Fleischer, who said Bush told the premier that he understands Sharon's decision to defer his trip to Washington and that the United States remains committed to Israel's security - but because Abbas is a reformist committed to peace, it is now vital to advance the peace process.

Abbas denounced suicide bombings yesterday, appealing to Palestinian militants to halt the violence, but said his government will not clash with the factions.

"I condemn those operations because it is hampering" our efforts to reach a peaceful settlement with Israel, he said in an interview with the Arab television station Al-Arabiya. "There must be one legitimate authority and one legitimate weapon," Abu Mazen said when asked about confiscating weapons from Palestinian militants groups.

Meanwhile, UN envoy Terje Larsen warned yesterday that Abbas will fall unless Palestinian suicide attacks stop and Israel takes steps to ease restrictions on the Palestinians, while in Washington lobbying for and against the U.S.-sponsored road map continued. Bush received a letter signed by a group of evangelical Christians and several Jewish groups warning that the road map is liable to be a disaster for Israel, while 34 Congressmen urged him not to give up on the road map, despite renewed terror.