Abbas: Stop construction before talks

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that settlement activity must cease completely before the Middle East peace process can resume. 

Speaking in Sharm e-Sheikh at the conclusion of his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Abbas stated that the Palestinians would neither oppose the renewal of talks nor set preconditions, but
would request a freeze of all settlement construction and an acceptance of what he termed "the benchmarks of the peace process."

The leaders' comments came after Egypt confirmed on Monday that a US peace plan includes Israeli guarantees for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within two years. A spokesperson for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry told the Egyptian Al Ahram newspaper that according to the plan, both sides are to exchange formal letters dealing with mutual guarantees.

In related news, Al Ahram reported that a senior Egyptian ministerial delegation, set to include Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit as well as intelligence chief Gen. Omar Suleiman, was scheduled to travel to Washington and London this weekend. The delegation would share the Arab vision for peace in the region with officials from the US and UK, and stress the importance of putting a stop to settlement activity.

Abbas arrived Sunday to Egypt for a series of meetings in Sharm e-Sheikh with Mubarak, as part of a diplomatic sweep of the regions which is to include Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and Turkey. The two main issues that Abbas is to engage in on his diplomatic tour are efforts to reconcile with Hamas, and the renewal of the stalled peace process with Israel. He arrived in Egypt from Jordan, where he was believed to have held a secret meeting with an unidentified important personality.

Abbas met with Suleiman on Sunday and discussed with him the prospects of resuming peace talks, as well as efforts to reconcile Fatah and Hamas.

Khaled Abu Toameh and Herb Keinon contributed to this report.

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