By Avi Issacharoff,
The Palestinian Authority will publicly call for the involvement of an international body to oversee the implementation of agreements with Israel on economic and political reforms in the PA, according to a senior Palestinian source.
The PA is expected to ask for such involvement during the peace summit scheduled to take place in the United States in November. According to the same source, who is involved in the negotiations with Israel and asked for anonymity, Israel is expected to accept the participation of a "third party" in the region.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Army Radio on Monday that Israel does not oppose Syrian participation in the peace summit.
"The coming weeks, during which [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert and [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas will conduct a dialogue, will dictate the nature of the conference. It is a mistake to agree on a list of things ahead of time," Livni said in an interview.
The foreign minister added that the diplomatic meetings and the upcoming summit will not bring an immediate solution to the situation in Gaza. "We will not close our eyes to what is happening in Gaza only because there is dialogue on the other side," she said. "There is an enormous difference between the Hamas, who has taken over Gaza, and the Palestinian government that we are conducting dialogue with. The world understands that the dialogue with Abu Mazen [Abbas] cannot resolve the situation in Gaza."
Meanwhile, Olmert and Abbas were scheduled to meet Wednesday, along with their negotiating teams, who will begin drafting a document of principles to be presented at the international summit.
The senior Palestinian figure says the international body would be able to determine how agreements between the sides are to be implemented, hinting that what will be involved are a force of observers, able to separate the two sides and decide controversial issues.
The senior official said the PA would agree to a formula in which the international body would function in a similar fashion to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The makeup of the international body and its authority will be determined during the summit, but an agreement may be reached even sooner, according to the senior Palestinian source.
The same source pointed out that Israel had already agreed to a role for such an international body during negotiations with the PA in 2000 and 2001.
In recent years the Palestinian Authority had asked on a number of occasions for the involvement of a third party.
The senior Palestinian official made it clear that from the point of view of the PA, the involvement of the U.S. alone will not be enough.
He said the new body will not only be involved in matters pertaining to negotiations, but will include representatives from other countries, like Japan, the Arab League and the European Union.
By the time of the international summit, the official said Israel and the PA need to agree on a document of principles and on the practical steps that will be undertaken on the ground - such as the removal of roadblocks in the West Bank, the release of Palestinian prisoners and broadening security cooperation.
"At the summit itself the start of negotiations for a final settlement must be declared," he said, adding that it is possible to conclude this negotiations in a few months - before the Bush administration ends.
However, the source was careful to point out that there is still no agreement on a "third party," but was optimistic enough to note that "so far we have agreed to nothing. The talks between the two leaders have not included any documents. Now the negotiating teams will begin working on a document of understanding between Olmert and Abbas."
Hinting at the urgent desire of the PA to push forward toward a final settlement, Abbas told the United Nations General Assembly late last week that "the time has come for the international community to use this opportunity ... to restart the peace process."
Abbas said Sunday in Cairo that more than 36 countries are expected to participate in the summit in the U.S., which he said "makes it necessary for us to arrive there with a clear document that will 'pave the way' for future talks on the details of a final settlement."
However, Palestinian sources said it is doubtful whether Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia will attend the summit.
Orignal Source