A meeting in Europe today between Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO officials is causing quite a stir on the Israeli political scene. After meeting with Nabil Sha\'ath in Athens this morning, Peres said that if the results of a security meeting later tonight are positive, Israel and the PLO \"may return to the negotiating table.\" A spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was quick to dismiss speculation that Sharon has agreed to diplomatic negotiations under fire. The meeting only dealt with the need for the PA to stop the violence, the spokesman said, \"and therefore did not depart from the fundamental principle that Israel will not negotiate under fire.\" For their part, the PLO officials in Athens renewed their calls to the international community for help \"to stop the wave of violence in the Middle East.\"
Speaking with Arutz-7 today, Environment Minister Tzachi Hanegbi emphatically denied that any political negotiations were in the offing, stressing that Sharon\'s policy differs significantly from that of former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. \"Barak\'s approach was characterized by diplomatic negotiations against the backdrop of violence. With our government, there is no \'final status\' arrangement in the cards, no division of Jerusalem... No remnant remains of the previous policy. We are not prepared to return to the concessions of Camp David or Sharm a-Sheikh. They are invalid and irrelevant! If we discuss any matter, it will be with the interests of the State of Israel in mind.\"
Minister of National Infrastructures Avigdor Lieberman, on the other hand, was upset that the Peres-Sha\'ath meeting took place at all. He said that the move compromises Israel’s power of deterrence and is a violation of the coalition agreement signed with his party, National Union-Yisrael Beitenu, explaining that the coalition agreement specifically states that Mr. Peres may not engage in private negotiations \"as he did prior to the signing of the Oslo Accords.\"
As a follow-up to the Israel-PLO meeting, representatives of the two sides have agreed to meet tonight at the home of U.S. Ambassador Martin Indyk. Representing Israel, among others, will be General Security Service chief Avi Dichter. Mohammed Dahlan and Jibril Rajoub will represent the PLO. On Feb. 11, Arutz-7 reported that the victims of the Nov. 20th Kfar Darom terrorist bus bombing - in which Miri Amitai and Gabi Biton were killed, three Cohen children lost limbs, and others were wounded - launched a suit against Dahlan and Yasser Arafat for 100 million shekels ($24.5 million). The suit, which was submitted to the Jerusalem District Court, accuses Dahlan - who heads the \"Palestinian Preventive Security Services\" - of planning and facilitating the attack on the bus. While serving as opposition leader, Ariel Sharon called on the Barak government to assassinate Dahlan for his role in the attacks.
Speaking with Arutz-7 today, Environment Minister Tzachi Hanegbi emphatically denied that any political negotiations were in the offing, stressing that Sharon\'s policy differs significantly from that of former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. \"Barak\'s approach was characterized by diplomatic negotiations against the backdrop of violence. With our government, there is no \'final status\' arrangement in the cards, no division of Jerusalem... No remnant remains of the previous policy. We are not prepared to return to the concessions of Camp David or Sharm a-Sheikh. They are invalid and irrelevant! If we discuss any matter, it will be with the interests of the State of Israel in mind.\"
Minister of National Infrastructures Avigdor Lieberman, on the other hand, was upset that the Peres-Sha\'ath meeting took place at all. He said that the move compromises Israel’s power of deterrence and is a violation of the coalition agreement signed with his party, National Union-Yisrael Beitenu, explaining that the coalition agreement specifically states that Mr. Peres may not engage in private negotiations \"as he did prior to the signing of the Oslo Accords.\"
As a follow-up to the Israel-PLO meeting, representatives of the two sides have agreed to meet tonight at the home of U.S. Ambassador Martin Indyk. Representing Israel, among others, will be General Security Service chief Avi Dichter. Mohammed Dahlan and Jibril Rajoub will represent the PLO. On Feb. 11, Arutz-7 reported that the victims of the Nov. 20th Kfar Darom terrorist bus bombing - in which Miri Amitai and Gabi Biton were killed, three Cohen children lost limbs, and others were wounded - launched a suit against Dahlan and Yasser Arafat for 100 million shekels ($24.5 million). The suit, which was submitted to the Jerusalem District Court, accuses Dahlan - who heads the \"Palestinian Preventive Security Services\" - of planning and facilitating the attack on the bus. While serving as opposition leader, Ariel Sharon called on the Barak government to assassinate Dahlan for his role in the attacks.