French FM to meet Olmert, address Foreign Ministry forum with Palestinian Authority counterpart today.
By MARK WEISS , JPOST.COM STAFFmahmoud abbas 224.88(photo credit: AP)
France is studying a proposal to deploy an international force in the Palestinian territories, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said during a tour of Jenin on Saturday.
He was asked about a report that France would propose the deployment of monitors or a European peacekeeping force in a future Palestinian state. The report in the pan-Arabic daily Asharq al-Awsat says the proposal is meant to address Israeli security concerns and help move peace talks forward.
"This is a suggestion that was proposed before, and we are working on studying this proposal. A decision was not taken yet, but the idea itself is not bad," Kouchner said.
An Israeli official stressed that two conditions must be met before the deployment of such a force: One, the agreement of both Israel and the Palestinians, and two, the signing of a full peace agreement between the sides.
However, Jerusalem is not opposed in principle to such a scenario and has already agreed in the past to a European presence at the Rafah border crossing between Sinai and Gaza, and in the framework of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron monitoring force.
On Sunday, Kouchner will hold separate talks in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
He will also address the opening session of a three-day Foreign Ministry forum aimed at drawing up Israel's foreign and strategic policy priorities for the years to come.
Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki and former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer will also speak at the opening session.
The gathering is the first of its kind and will last for three days, with the final two days of discussions to be held behind closed doors.
Kouchner toured Jenin on Saturday and praised the PA security services for restoring order, saying he would share his positive assessment with Israel.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, said peace talks would continue despite upcoming leadership changes in Israel and the US. He urged the next American administration to become involved immediately in Middle East peacemaking.
"We talked... about the peace process," Abbas said at a joint news conference with Kouchner. "We emphasized that we are continuing this process, whether it is with the outgoing prime minister, Olmert, or with Livni, if she forms her government, and also with the new [US] administration, which we hope will handle this [the negotiations] immediately and directly, and that time won't be wasted, as it was wasted before."
Abbas described Livni as a "peace partner," noting that as Israel's lead negotiator for the past 11 months, she is aware of all the details of the talks.
French officers are involved in training Palestinian forces in Jenin and Kouchner praised the improvement in security on the ground.
"I saw... how much the situation has changed in Jenin," he said. "It has changed profoundly, not only because Palestinians are in charge of their own security but because the relations between Palestinians... have changed and confidence has been reestablished.
"I will tell everyone that things have changed. I will say it in Israel tomorrow and at the upcoming EU foreign ministers meeting," he added.
Kouchner also pledged Europe's full support in efforts to establish a Palestinian state.
Abbas is planning to visit Damascus next week, Army Radio reported Friday.
According to a senior PA official, Abbas is expected to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad to discuss the recent indirect talks between Syria and Israel, as well as a possible Fatah rapprochement with Hamas.
The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report.
MK Ahmed Tibi (UAL) told Reuters that Abbas was already holding secret talks with Assad, and that the two leaders are working to coordinate policies on diplomatic issues.
Meanwhile, Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei said on Saturday the Palestinians would never sign any agreement with Israel that did not include Jerusalem, and that postponing discussion of the issue only served Israeli plans to "Judaize" the city, according to the Palestinian news agency Ma'an.
"The Palestinian Authority will not negotiate and will not sign on any agreement with Israel that does not include Jerusalem," Qurei, a former PA prime minister, said during a meeting with the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah.
"The Palestinian leadership is decisive [in its stance] not to negotiate and conclude matters with the Israelis without Jerusalem," Qurei continued. "The postponement of the discussion of this issue is aimed at continuing the Israeli plans to Judaize the holy city, especially the Aksa Mosque."
"The Palestinian people reject the harming of their local holy places - both the Muslim and the Christian - in Jerusalem, and see this as a crossing of red lines and creation of a reality on the ground in an attempt to create precedents that would preclude the results of the negotiations on a final-status agreement," he said.
During the meeting, Salah expressed support for the activities of the Palestinian leadership with regards to safe-guarding the Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount, and urged reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas in order to face "the challenges and dangers that threaten" the mosque.
"The continuation of this rift gives Israel a green light to continue its policies to Judaize Jerusalem," he said.
AP contributed to this report
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