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Abbas willing to hold immediate talks with Israel

Atul Aneja

Hamas may be by-passed through a referendum if negotiations yield a fair deal for Palestinians

DUBAI: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called for urgent negotiations in the wake of the newly-elected Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's declaration that he would go ahead with a controversial plan to fix his country's permanent borders with a future Palestinian State.

"Mr. Olmert should not wait [to resume negotiations]," Saeb Erekat, the spokesman for Mr. Abbas, said soon after Mr. Olmert addressed the newly-elected Parliament and set out his Government's agenda.

Reluctant partner

Even before the Israeli Parliament met, Mr. Abbas had stressed that talks between the Palestinians and Israelis must begin quickly.

"We are prepared to resume the negotiations immediately," Mr. Abbas said. Israel has been reluctant to hold talks, citing the emergence of a Palestinian Government led by the militant group Hamas. But, Mr. Abbas has been indicating that Hamas could be by-passed through a referendum if negotiations with him yielded a fair deal.

In an interview with the Israeli daily Maariv, Mr. Abbas said, "It is my intention to bring the results of the negotiations (with Israel), if and when they end, to the Palestinian people in the form of a referendum and to give the Palestinian people the right to decide."

New initiative

Mr. Abbas' comments coincide with reports that he intended to start a new political movement in which the younger members of his Fatah party would be involved. The London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported that Mr. Abbas would invite key Fatah members including former Parliament Speaker Rouhi Fatouh, Muhammed Dahlan, and Jibril Rajoub to participate in his new initiative.

During his address Mr. Olmert laid out some of the salient features of what has been described as Israel's "convergence plan." He called for the removal of isolated Israeli settlements, but said major settlement blocks would be consolidated.

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