ISRAEL: The Palestinian Prime Minister, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, is expected to demand that Israel explicitly declare its acceptance of the Palestinian right to statehood at a meeting in Jerusalem tonight.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, will tell Mr Abbas that, with his government having accepted the road-map peace plan earlier this week, the Palestinians now have to begin to fight terror.
The meeting, the second between the two men in as many weeks, is a precursor to a summit they will be attending with President Bush next Wednesday in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba.
At tonight's meeting, Mr Sharon is expected to suggest the Palestinians gradually take over security control of areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip which the Israeli military vacates, and to announce several gestures toward the Palestinians regarding restrictions in the Occupied Territories.
If Israel is to make any public declaration recognising the Palestinian right to statehood, however, Mr Sharon, who in the past has said he accepts the ultimate creation of a Palestinian state, is more likely to do so at the summit with Mr Bush - a move that would earn him diplomatic capital - than at a meeting with Mr Abbas.
In an interview published yesterday in the Haaretz newspaper, Mr Abbas said the Americans had told him to ignore Israeli talk of reservations regarding the road map. "We understood from the Americans that there are no changes in the road map. This is a historic opportunity to return to a track of normalcy. We are saying to the Israelis, 'follow the map and don't waste time haggling over details'."
Mr Abbas, who insisted he knew Mr Sharon "inside and out", said he would "believe him only when he implements the road map".
Asked whether he was seeking to convince the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups to cease suicide attacks and accept a temporary truce, Mr Abbas, who has criticised the armed nature of the uprising, said he was seeking "absolute calm".
At their last meeting, Mr Sharon told his Palestinian counterpart that Israel would not accept a temporary ceasefire, which he said would allow the militias to rearm.
But the daunting task facing the new prime minister in persuading militants to lay down their weapons was evident yesterday, with Hamas's spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, dismissing Israel's formal acceptance of the road map as "a trick". Mr Yassin, who said Israel's aim was "to throw the ball into our court", also criticised the US, which he said "works for the interest of Israel . . . at our expense".
While Mr Abbas said in the interview it was "important to control the violence, put an end to it", he urged Israel "to understand that even if here and there some violent incidents take place, we don't agree to it".
In the West Bank, a member of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's Force 17 guard unit was shot and killed in what Israel said was an internal dispute among Palestinians. Palestinian sources confirmed the man had not been shot by soldiers.