MIDDLE EAST: Terrorism, territory, fences and prisoners are on the agenda today as the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, meets President Bush at the White House for the first time.
According to the former chief Palestinian negotiator, Mr Saeb Erekat, Mr Abbas "cannot afford to come back empty-handed". Whereas Mr Bush is welcoming Mr Abbas, the Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, has been told that he will never again cross the White House threshold.
Mr Arafat, who last week reportedly accused Mr Abbas of taking positions that "betray the interests of the Palestinian people", emphatically remains both the symbol and the most popular leader of the Palestinians, while Mr Abbas can easily be pushed aside.
It was only with great reluctance that Mr Arafat agreed to let Mr Abbas travel to Washington and then only after exhaustive discussions with him about what would be said there.
Mr Bush will primarily use the meeting to press Mr Abbas to aggressively confront Hamas, Islamic Jihad and extremists from Mr Arafat and Mr Abbas's Fatah faction of the PLO and prevent any return to suicide bombings and other attacks on Israelis.
Israel says Hamas is using the current Intifada ceasefire to improve the range and accuracy of its rockets and to regroup for an intensified wave of attacks.
Mr Abbas, however, will want to talk about land for a Palestinian state. Specifically, he is bringing maps to demonstrate that the Palestinians are demanding no more than 25 percent of what was British mandatory Palestine. He also intends to protest at Israel's construction of a fence that cuts into the West Bank as it runs along the Israel-West Bank border.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, is adamant that the barrier is designed solely to prevent entry into Israel across what has hitherto been an open border for Palestinian suicide bombers and gunmen and that the fence has "no political significance."
Mr Abbas will protest at the expropriation of territory and the likelihood that Israel may seek to turn the sophisticated fence into a border if and when substantive peace negotiations resume. Senior administration officials, too, are publicly criticising Israel over its route.
Seven Palestinian prisoners were wounded last night in an explosion in Gaza City. The explosion occurred between a jail and a Palestinian intelligence headquarters in the city centre. - (Reuters)