Israeli PM Says to Cut Ties with Palestinians
Reuters
Jan. 14, 2005 - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Friday ordered all government officials to cut ties with the new Palestinian government until it curbs attacks, a day after militants killed six Israelis on the Gaza border.
"The prime minister has instructed all members of the government to cease all contact with the Palestinian Authority until they take the necessary steps to curb and stop terrorism," a senior Israeli official in Sharon's office said.
Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas spoke by phone this week in the highest level Israeli-Palestinian contact in years. They had been widely expected to meet soon to discuss security coordination in a run-up to Israel's planned pullout from the Gaza Strip later this year.
Abbas, due to be sworn in as president Saturday, condemned the attack on Israel's border cargo terminal in Gaza and deadly raids Israel has mounted against militants.
Israel has regarded Abbas as a man it could do business with after years of shunning Yasser Arafat, who died in November. But it said Abbas must rein in militants under a U.S.-backed peace "road map" before negotiations could resume.
Abbas said he wanted to co-opt rather than confront militant groups fighting Israel.
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