Jordan Times
Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Muasher says no tripartite meeting between King, Abbas, Sharon
By Reem Rawashdeh

AMMAN — A senior official on Monday refuted news reports that His Majesty King Abdullah would participate in a tripartite meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher told reporters during a weekly briefing that King Abdullah's planned visit to the Palestinian territories and Israel will focus on ways to “narrow the differences” between both sides of the conflict.

Muasher, also government spokesperson, said the visit was expected to be “soon,” but its date has yet to be determined.

On Saturday, a Royal Court official said the King's talks with Abbas and Sharon will focus on “the need to establish trust between the two and put an end to the violence.”

The Monarch last week met with Sharon on the sidelines of the UN World Summit in New York and told him that the Gaza pullout should be followed by similar withdrawals from the West Bank.

Muasher, meanwhile, condemned the Israeli offensives in the Gaza Strip and arrests in the West Bank.

Reports said Monday that Israel launched multiple missile strikes in Gaza amid a large offensive that also saw incursions and hundreds of arrests in the West Bank for the past few days.


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