Israeli and Palestinian officials have agreed to continue talks aimed at paving the way for high-level meetings between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Israeli prime minister’s office made the announcement yesterday.
The United States has urged both sides to renew peace talks, which have been stalled since 2003, but recent efforts to arrange a summit have been deadlocked.
Among the concerns are Israel’s demand that a soldier kidnapped in Gaza in June be released. Abbas, who says he has been working to try to free the soldier, wants Israel to first promise to free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Also yesterday, Israel said it will continue with reconnaissance flights over Lebanon as a means to check the smuggling of arms from Syria to Hezbollah forces.
Israel made the decision despite a warning from French government officials to cease the surveillance. France is among several nations with troops stationed in south Lebanon on peacekeeping duties under U.N. sponsorship.
Israel invaded south Lebanon in mid-July and slugged it out with Hezbollah for about four weeks. Israel said it attacked because it wanted two other kidnapped soldiers released. That has not happened as of yet.
Several Israeli Cabinet ministers yesterday called for a military operation to retake control of Gaza’s southern border, which abuts Egypt, to prevent Palestinian militants from smuggling weapons into the strip.
“Action must be taken without hesitation,” said Eli Yishai, the industry and trade minister. “Any hesitation is dangerous and we must act immediately.”
Israel estimates that since its withdrawal a year ago, tons of munitions, including advanced shoulder-fired missiles, have been smuggled into Gaza through a network of underground tunnels.
Palestinian government spokesman Ghazi Hamad denounced the proposal as a ruse to cover a reoccupation of Gaza – something Israel has said repeatedly it does not intend.
“The call to retake the border is a serious escalation and an incitement for more Israeli aggression,” Hamad said.