After several hours of uncertainty, it was announced this afternoon that the Sharon-Abbas meeting will in fact take place tonight as scheduled. Each side had blamed the other for what looked to be developing into another postponement or cancellation of the meeting - but as of now the meeting is on. The two met last week for the first time since they assumed their respective positions, and were to have met again earlier this week - but Yasser Arafat ordered the PA prime minister to claim "scheduling conflicts" and postpone the meeting.
On the agenda tonight: Prime Minister Sharon will propose that the IDF will withdraw from a particular area in Yesha, enabling Abu Mazen to assume control and dismantle the area's terrorist infrastructures. This will be a test of Abu Mazen's Road Map promise to end terrorism. Sharon will apparently propose that the first area to be thus tested should be northern Gaza, from where Kassam rockets have been frequently fired at Sderot and surrounding areas. He may also propose to withdraw from a PA-controlled city in the Shomron.
Abbas has already said that he will respond affirmatively to the offer. Col. (res.) Moshe Hager told Arutz-7 today said that the PA has no intention of fighting terrorism, and that any Israeli withdrawal will enable the terrorists to regroup and rearm.
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal asked Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal what he thinks of the offer that Sharon seems about to make to Abu Mazen. "We're afraid," Moyal said. "We have been shelled a number of times, but we are aware that if the army wasn't there we would have received twice as many shells. If the army leaves Beit Hanoun without totally removing the Palestinians' Kassam rocket capabilities, it could simply be a matter of life and death."
Hamas terrorist leader Sheikh Yassin has shown some willingness to agree to a "hudna" ceasefire - leaving him the option of ending it at his convenience. Israel objects to a ceasefire of longer than a few weeks, demanding instead that the terrorists be disarmed and their infrastructures be destroyed.
MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud), Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said earlier this week that he would consider establishing a sub-committee to oversee the implementation of Israel's 14 reservations on the Road Map.
On the agenda tonight: Prime Minister Sharon will propose that the IDF will withdraw from a particular area in Yesha, enabling Abu Mazen to assume control and dismantle the area's terrorist infrastructures. This will be a test of Abu Mazen's Road Map promise to end terrorism. Sharon will apparently propose that the first area to be thus tested should be northern Gaza, from where Kassam rockets have been frequently fired at Sderot and surrounding areas. He may also propose to withdraw from a PA-controlled city in the Shomron.
Abbas has already said that he will respond affirmatively to the offer. Col. (res.) Moshe Hager told Arutz-7 today said that the PA has no intention of fighting terrorism, and that any Israeli withdrawal will enable the terrorists to regroup and rearm.
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal asked Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal what he thinks of the offer that Sharon seems about to make to Abu Mazen. "We're afraid," Moyal said. "We have been shelled a number of times, but we are aware that if the army wasn't there we would have received twice as many shells. If the army leaves Beit Hanoun without totally removing the Palestinians' Kassam rocket capabilities, it could simply be a matter of life and death."
Hamas terrorist leader Sheikh Yassin has shown some willingness to agree to a "hudna" ceasefire - leaving him the option of ending it at his convenience. Israel objects to a ceasefire of longer than a few weeks, demanding instead that the terrorists be disarmed and their infrastructures be destroyed.
MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud), Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said earlier this week that he would consider establishing a sub-committee to oversee the implementation of Israel's 14 reservations on the Road Map.