Peter Hirschberg
Tel Aviv
The Palestinian Prime Minister, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, will hold talks on July 25th in Washington with President Bush aimed at bolstering the road map peace plan.
A statement released yesterday by Mr Abbas's office said the prime minister would focus on the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and Israeli settlement building in the West Bank. There was no immediate official confirmation of the visit by the White House.
After having been appointed to the post of prime minister in late April by Mr Yasser Arafat, Mr Abbas had said he would not go abroad until Israel lifted its travel ban on the Palestinian Authority president, who is confined to Ramallah.
Before he departs for the US, Mr Abbas will meet the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon. News of the meeting was revealed yesterday, during Mr Sharon's visit to Norway, by the country's premier, Mr Kjeil Magne Bondevik, who said he did "not exclude the possibility that new steps will be announced" by the Israeli leader to promote the road map.
Israeli elite troops yesterday rescued Mr Eliyahu Gurel, a taxi- driver who was kidnapped on Friday by Palestinians and held in an abandoned building in the Ramallah area. When the troops entered the building, they found Mr Gurel alone and bound. No shots were fired during the operation, and four Palestinians suspected of having abducted Mr Gurel were captured by Israeli forces.
Israeli army officers said the kidnapping was a "terrorist" act and that the kidnappers had demanded the release of some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.