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Sharon agrees to Mideast security talks
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-20 00:17 JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon decided Wednesday to resume security talks with the
Palestinians, Israeli officials said, after the Palestinians promised new steps
to prevent militant attacks on Israel.
Security officials from the two sides planned to meet late Wednesday to
discuss ways of stopping Palestinian rocket fire in the northern Gaza Strip, the
officials said.
Sharon had halted contacts with the new Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas,
after attackers killed six Israeli civilians at a Gaza checkpoint last week.
Israel has threatened to carry out a major reprisal, but has so far held off to
give Abbas time to take action against militants.
Sharon met with his security Cabinet on Wednesday afternoon. Participants
said the decision to resume security contacts was made at the meeting.
The participants said Abbas initiated the request and that a meeting would
take place later Wednesday. They said the decision meant no military action
would immediately be taken. There was no immediate confirmation from Palestinian
officials.
Earlier Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Abdel Razek Majaide, the top Palestinian
commander in Gaza and the West Bank, said Palestinian forces would soon be
deployed near the Gaza border with Israel to prevent rocket attacks.
The meeting follows a spike in violence in the Gaza Strip, including repeated
rocket attacks and a suicide bombing that killed an Israeli security agent
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