Newly appointed Palestinian finance minister Salam Fayad met Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in Jerusalem, Israel TV reported Monday night. It was the first such high-level contact in more than two months between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
Palestinian officials had said earlier that new Palestinian interior minister General Abdel Razaq al-Yahya would also take part in the meeting with Peres.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has mandated Peres to discuss economic and military measures, such as relieving the harsh conditions of Palestinians in the West Bank under the re-occupation.
The Palestinian minister asked Peres to release some NIS 2 million (about US$400,000) of Palestinian tax money which has been frozen in Israel's treasury. U.S. officials recommended, before the meeting, that Israel release 10 percent of the PA's money and transfer it to the new finance minister.
According to the American proposal, the money will be under international supervision and will be used to improve the economic situation in the territories. The transfer of the money would be an Israeli gesture of goodwill and would serve as a test for the implementation of reforms in the PA.
Palestinian Cabinet Secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman said the meeting wouldn't accomplish anything and represented another attempt by Israel to change the Palestinian leadership by meeting only with newly appointed ministers.
Later Monday, Sharon pressed his demand for changes in the PA. He said there must be new leadership, and called for replacing all the Palestinian security branches. "They are involved in terror so all them should be dismantled," he told U.S. Jewish activists in Jerusalem.
On the ground, Israeli security forces were on high alert in the area surrounding the road connecting Jerusalem and Modi'in city following warnings that armed Palestinians had infiltrated the area Monday night. Roadblocks were set up along the road, which has been closed for several hours. Israeli troops assisted by police and helicopters, conducted searches in the area, Israeli media reports said.
Earlier in the day, a Palestinian with orders to carry out a suicide attack was arrested at the A-ram checkpoint in northern Jerusalem, Israeli sources said. (Albawaba.com)
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