Israel offers amnesty to boost Fatah
In a bid to strengthen Fatah against Islamic militant group Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rewarded the Abbas government on Monday with amnesty to 178 fugitives.
By Dan Murphy | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorand Joshua Mitnick | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the July 17, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 3
Tel Aviv and Ramallah, West bank - Meeting for the first time since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to a package of economic and security steps to bolster Fatah's government in the West Bank against the Islamic militants.
The summit came hours before President Bush announced that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would host an international conference later this year. The meeting would include Israel, the Palestinians, and some of Israel’s Arab neighbors to help restart Middle East peace talks. The president also pledged a $190 million aid package aimed at helping Mr. Abbas and Israelis create conditions for a resumption of peace negotiations.
After Hamas reestablished a measure of stability in the Gaza Strip, Abbas, Israel, and the US are under pressure to demonstrate a comparable improvement in Palestinian security and prosperity in the West Bank.
The diplomatic progress followed signs of a fledgling cease-fire between Fatah militia members and Israel thanks to an amnesty agreement over the weekend for 178 fugitives linked with Abbas's political party. After seven years of attacks against Israeli civilian and military targets, Fatah gunmen are handing in their weapons and saying they are willing to abandon their military uprising against Israel.
"This makes it easy for us to tell the people peace is the way and war is not," says Jamal Nazzal, a spokesman for Fatah in the West Bank. "This is the first time in almost six years that Israel indicates its readiness to stop the policy of targeted killings, which has cost so many Palestinians their lives. This is a good reason to be optimistic."
Olmert and Abbas also discussed ways to remove military roadblocks in the West Bank that have handicapped the Palestinian economy and worsened living conditions. Israel is planning to unfreeze more than $100 million of Palestinian customs taxes held in escrow when the Palestinian government was controlled by Hamas.
An Israeli government spokesman said the government had scheduled this Friday as the date for the release of 250 Fatah prisoners promised by Olmert to Abbas at a regional summit last month.
But analysts see the first-ever amnesty of some 178 Fatah fugitives as a key step in helping Abbas restore a modicum of order, critical to his standing both domestically and internationally.
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