Cabinet meeting, comments from Qureia and Erekat
(6 Feb 2005) Jerusalem 1. Exterior of Israeli Prime Minister's office 2. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon entering meeting 3. Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres entering meeting 4. Ehud Olmert, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, outside meeting 5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ehud Olmert, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister "We have to cooperate with the Palestinians in order to move forward rapidly and consistently in order to create a new reality in the Middle East." QUESTION "What about the issue of prisoners?" "I think we have to try and be as flexible as possible with regard to some of the requests of the Palestinians, but that doesn't mean we that have to accept every single request that they have. We'll have to examine it in a flexible and generous way." 6. Olmert walks into meeting 7. Mid shot Israeli cabinet meeting, pan to Sharon 8. Mid shot Sharon (right) and Olmert (left) 9. Wide shot Sharon (centre) Ramallah, West Bank 10. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia arriving at his office 11. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ahmed Qureia, Palestinian Prime Minister: "We are preparing for the summit through negotiations with the Israeli side. Many issues have been discussed and we are on the way to reaching an understanding on some of them, but the most important things, including the wall, Jerusalem and settlements, haven't been discussed, so we hope the summit will tackle them." Gaza City, Gaza Strip 12. Exterior of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's office 13. Abbas's car arriving at office, Abbas gets out and enters building 14. Member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council arriving for meeting STORYLINE: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has briefed his ministers on understandings between Israeli and Palestinian officials before Tuesday's summit in Egypt. The briefing took place at the weekly Israeli cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday. Israel has signalled it will consider freeing some Palestinian prisoners involved in attacks on Israelis, defusing a crisis with the Palestinian Authority ahead of the historic Mideast summit. Israel initially said it wouldn't release those involved in attacks, prompting Palestinian complaints that a planned release of 900 prisoners, meant as a gesture toward Tuesday's summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, was not far-reaching enough. The dispute overshadowed summit preparations. But late on Saturday the two sides agreed to form a joint committee to review files of additional prisoners, including those involved in attacks. The formation of the committee will be announced on Tuesday at the summit in Egypt. In Ramallah on Sunday, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said preparations for the summit were still ongoing and that there were issues being discussed by the two sides. The Palestinians want to have a say in which prisoners are released and seek freedom for large numbers of inmates, including those involved in attacks, according to a Palestinian Cabinet minister involved in the talks. Israel has traditionally balked at releasing prisoners accused of being involved in planning or carrying out attacks on Israelis, but agreed to at least discuss the issue in the framework of the committee, a senior Israeli official said on condition of anonymity. The forthcoming summit, hosted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, will be the first time Sharon and Abbas have met since the latter was elected to succeed Yasser Arafat in a January 9 presidential election. Jordan's King Abdullah II will also participate. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
