MIDDLE EAST: Newly elected Palestinian leader Mr Mahmoud Abbas announced yesterday that he planned to start implementing security commitments included in the internationally backed "road map" peace plan, which calls on the Palestinians to move against militant groups
"As you know, this plan starts with security commitments and eventually deals with the final status issues, like borders and Jerusalem," Mr Abbas said in Ramallah. "We are ready to implement our commitments. We hope the Israeli side will do the same."
But while the first stage of the road map requires that the Palestinians move against "individuals and groups conducting and planning violent attacks on Israelis anywhere", Mr Abbas, who has repeatedly called for an end to Palestinian attacks, has made it clear he will not employ force to this end - a move he fears could spark widespread civil strife. Instead, he hopes to persuade militant groups like Hamas to agree to a ceasefire.
In the wake of Mr Abbas's election earlier this week, the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, reiterated his long-held condition for the revival of any peace talks - a crackdown on militants. Foreign Minister Mr Silvan Shalom said yesterday that the test for Mr Abbas would be "whether he has the will and determination to bring Palestinian terror to an end". The road map, which neither side has ever implemented, calls on Israel to freeze settlements and to withdraw its forces from areas occupied since the Intifada uprising erupted in September 2000. The plan culminates in the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, meanwhile, Israeli troops yesterday fired at a car they said was heading towards them, killing the driver who, it turned out, was taking his neighbour to hospital to give birth.
Later Palestinian militants attacked near an army base in the central Gaza Strip. Five people were killed and 10 wounded in the incident, an Israeli rescue service said. The service did not say whether the victims were Israelis or Palestinians. Israel Radio said two suicide bombers had detonated themselves near the Karni crossing between Israel and Gaza and that four Israelis were wounded.