Ehud Olmert, Israel’s acting prime minister, said on Tuesday he hoped to renew peace talks with the Palestinians after general elections in March, but he repeated Ariel Sharon’s condition that militant groups must be disarmed first.
Mr Olmert, who replaced Mr Sharon after he suffered a massive stroke two weeks ago, said any talks would be based on the US-backed “road map”, which remains stalled over the Palestinians’ failure to disarm and continued Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories.
Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority president, is widely perceived as a weak leader and his Fatah faction faces stiff competition from the militant group Hamas in next week’s legislative elections.
Mr Olmert said there would be no change in government policies, but added: “I hope that based on the results of their elections, and after that the results of our elections, I will be able to enter negotiations…on a final agreement between us and the Palestinians.”
Mr Olmert, a former mayor of Jerusalem, tops opinion polls to win the March 28 elections as head of the Kadima party, which Mr Sharon founded just before his stroke.
It is widely believed that Mr Sharon intended to carry out further withdrawals from the West Bank after he withdrew settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip last year. But Mr Olmert has not said whether he is considering any further withdrawals.
Israeli rightwing nationalists in Hebron have stepped up a confrontation, sometimes violent, in recent days to prevent the eviction of settlers from the West Bank city. Israeli police in riot gear on Tuesday forcibly removed protestors from the city.
Under a Supreme Court order, nine Jewish families have been told to stop squatting in shops in the city, where some 500 Jews live among 130,000 Palestinians.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli troops killed a Hamas militant in Tulkarem in the West Bank, raising fears of retaliation by the group, which has abided by a “state of calm” in the run up to the Palestinian elections next Wednesday.
Adding to the Palestinian Authority’s woes on Tuesday was the European Union’s suspension of €35m in aid because of a lack of budgetary discipline.
“The biggest donor is the European Commission and we have not paid because the benchmarks have not been fulfilled,” said Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU commissioner, who was in the region on Tuesday. She said the issue was under discussion.
A big rise in public sector wages has been accompanied by a wave of lawlessness in Gaza since the Israeli withdrawal, leading to increased donor concern about corruption and mismanagement.
Mr Olmert, who replaced Mr Sharon after he suffered a massive stroke two weeks ago, said any talks would be based on the US-backed “road map”, which remains stalled over the Palestinians’ failure to disarm and continued Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories.
Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority president, is widely perceived as a weak leader and his Fatah faction faces stiff competition from the militant group Hamas in next week’s legislative elections.
Mr Olmert said there would be no change in government policies, but added: “I hope that based on the results of their elections, and after that the results of our elections, I will be able to enter negotiations…on a final agreement between us and the Palestinians.”
Mr Olmert, a former mayor of Jerusalem, tops opinion polls to win the March 28 elections as head of the Kadima party, which Mr Sharon founded just before his stroke.
It is widely believed that Mr Sharon intended to carry out further withdrawals from the West Bank after he withdrew settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip last year. But Mr Olmert has not said whether he is considering any further withdrawals.
Israeli rightwing nationalists in Hebron have stepped up a confrontation, sometimes violent, in recent days to prevent the eviction of settlers from the West Bank city. Israeli police in riot gear on Tuesday forcibly removed protestors from the city.
Under a Supreme Court order, nine Jewish families have been told to stop squatting in shops in the city, where some 500 Jews live among 130,000 Palestinians.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli troops killed a Hamas militant in Tulkarem in the West Bank, raising fears of retaliation by the group, which has abided by a “state of calm” in the run up to the Palestinian elections next Wednesday.
Adding to the Palestinian Authority’s woes on Tuesday was the European Union’s suspension of €35m in aid because of a lack of budgetary discipline.
“The biggest donor is the European Commission and we have not paid because the benchmarks have not been fulfilled,” said Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU commissioner, who was in the region on Tuesday. She said the issue was under discussion.
A big rise in public sector wages has been accompanied by a wave of lawlessness in Gaza since the Israeli withdrawal, leading to increased donor concern about corruption and mismanagement.