VOA News
08 Jul 2003, 13:13 UTC
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has cancelled his Wednesday meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Reports from the West Bank city of Ramallah say Mr. Abbas cited Israel's approach to the issue of Palestinian prisoners as his reason for scrapping the meeting. The reports say Mr. Abbas was harshly criticized at a gathering of top Palestinian leaders Monday for not being tough enough with Israel on the prisoner issue.
Palestinian militants are demanding Israel release all of the estimated 6,000 Palestinians in its custody as a condition for maintaining an agreement not to attack Israeli targets.
On Sunday, Israel's cabinet approved a limited release plan involving no more than 400 prisoners. The cabinet set strict criteria for the release, saying members of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad would stay behind bars.
The meeting between Mr. Abbas and Mr. Sharon would have been their second meeting in eight days. The two leaders were scheduled to discuss steps for advancing the "road map" plan for Middle East peace.
Meanwhile, the leadership of Islamic Jihad says it remains committed to the cease-fire agreement despite an apparent suicide bombing carried out by a branch of the group.
The group's branch in the city of Jenin claimed responsibility for Monday's attack, which killed a 65-year-old Israeli woman in her home north of Tel Aviv.
The Jenin wing said it carried out the attack because of Israeli's refusal to free all Palestinian prisoners.
Some information for this report provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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