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Olmert, Abbas to Meet Arab Leaders
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"We will ask the Israelis to immediately resume talks on a final-status agreement and end the occupation," said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior adviser to Abbas.
Abed Rabbo said Abbas would also ask Olmert to remove some of the hundreds of Israeli roadblocks and barriers in the West Bank, which the Israeli military says it maintains for security. He said doing so would "make Palestinian life more normal," as well as allow Fatah security forces greater freedom of movement.
Abbas fired the Hamas-led power-sharing cabinet last week after the radical Islamic group completed a five-day rout of Fatah security forces in Gaza that left more than 140 people dead. He installed an emergency cabinet led by Salam Fayyad, an independent lawmaker and former World Bank official.
Abbas, usually a cautious politician, appears unwilling to reconcile with Hamas anytime soon. He said in a speech Wednesday evening that "there is no dialogue with those murderous terrorists," prompting calls Thursday from Hamas officials in Gaza for his resignation.
Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said, "We're surprised he has closed the door on us and left it wide open to the occupation."
"This summit is not justified," Barhoum said. "The Israelis want to target Gaza again, and he is going there to improve relations. I'm afraid it will signal to all Arab countries that they have the right to normalize ties with the Zionists because of this support he is giving them."
Egypt and Jordan, along with the rest of the 22-member Arab League, have endorsed a peace proposal that would exchange recognition of Israel for its withdrawal from territory occupied in the 1967 Middle East war and a "just" solution for Palestinian refugees. Abed Rabbo said he expected Mubarak and Abdullah to push Olmert to begin talks with Abbas based on the initiative.
"As we move forward with the Palestinians, the idea is that the moderate Arab countries would be there for support," said Mark Regev, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem announced that 36 American citizens left Gaza through the Erez crossing. U.S. officials have worried about their safety and have advised Americans not to travel to the strip.
Correspondent Ellen Knickmeyer in Cairo contributed to this report.
