Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies
September 11, 2004
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
on Friday said the key to making progress in the Middle East was stripping
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat of his power.
Speaking during an interview with the Associated Press, Powell
said the PA needs a prime minister with powers, which entails stripping
Arafat of his current authority.
The secretary of state said the
U.S. was willing to help the sides make progress, but that the
Palestinians needed to take action in curbing terror and advancing reforms
in order to enable that progress to be made.
Palestinians to
meet with Egyptians on pullout plan
Palestinian security chiefs
will hold their first talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo next week to
coordinate strategy in the face of Israel's disengagement plan, a
Palestinian official said on Friday.
The meeting set to begin on
Monday follows Egypt's offer to help train Palestinian security officers
in preparation for an Israeli pullout planned by the end of 2005. But
Egypt's initiative appears to have made little progress so
far.
Egypt wants to help prevent any collapse into anarchy or an
Islamist takeover on its borders Israel leaves.
But Cairo showed
reluctance on Wednesday to send security advisers into the Gaza Strip
after failing to win an Israeli agreement to halt attacks on Palestinian
militants and raids into Gaza.
Egypt has also voiced impatience at
the pace of Palestinian reforms in a welter of security
services.
Israel has so far frozen the Palestinians out of the
plan, insisting on a unilateral approach, but has welcomed Egyptian
cooperation. Egypt offered months ago to train Palestinian security
officers, but no deals have yet been reached.
Palestinian General
Intelligence Chief Amin al-Hindi, Public Security Chief Abdel-Razek
al-Majaydeh and the Palestinian police chief are due to attend the talks,
the official said.
But the official said Israel rejected a request
for Gaza Internal Security Chief Rashid Abu Shbak to leave Gaza to attend
the talks. The Israel Defense Forces had no immediate
comment.