Officials to meet to prepare Sharon-Qureia summit

[Gimel]

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's chief of staff Dov Weisglass is to meet his Palestinian counterpart Hassan Abu-Libdeh Wednesday to pave the way for a planned summit next week between Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia.

The meeting comes amid wide speculation over Sharon's surprise announcement, in a Haaretz interview Monday, that he intends to evacuate all settlements in the Gaza Strip and three in the West Bank within about two years.

National Security Council Chairman Giora Eiland is due to hand in the first detailed draft of the disengagement plan to Sharon next week, according to a senior government source in Jerusalem.

Qureia had refused to meet Sharon until construction of the West Bank separation fence was stopped. But Israeli sources said Tuesday that the PA leader was under heavy U.S. and Egyptian pressure to hold the summit.

<snip>

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin hinted Tuesday that right-wing ministers should consider resigning, following Sharon's recent declarations.

"Today we are at the moment of truth. This decision prevented me from joining the government. I knew what was ahead for the government, and I knew what the government could expect," Rivlin told Army Radio. He went on to say that Sharon had never been part of the Greater Israel camp. "Arik is a pragmatic politician who was educated on Ben-Gurion's legacy," Rivlin said.

Despite Peres' denial that his party is not considering joining the coalition government, Labor lawmakers hinted earlier Tuesday that if Sharon goes ahead with his plans to evacuate settlements in Gaza, the party would have little choice but to enter into a coalition government with him.

<continued>
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/390294.html