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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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