Sharon and Abbas have much to gain from summit

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will arrive in Egypt for a summit meeting Tuesday at one of those rare moments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict of more than half a century — when leaders of the two peoples just may be able to help each other out.

They're not about to settle the underlying conflict — in which Israelis want secure borders and Palestinians want a viable territory for a nation to call their own. But the two leaders could end up exchanging small gifts that nudge Israelis and Palestinians in the direction of peace and away from violence.

More than anything, it's the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in late November that created this possibility. Sharon and Arafat hated each other and were not about to exchange favors.

Sharon sees Abbas as a reasonable man, although when he tried to deal with Abbas during Abbas' brief tenure as Palestinian prime minister in 2003, Arafat prevented that by denying Abbas any real authority.

Abbas has called for an end to attacks on Israel by Palestinian militant groups, but unlike Arafat, whose authority was unquestioned, Abbas is politically weak. On Jan. 9 he won a decisive election as head of the Palestinian Authority. But he is still trying to assert authority over Palestinian security forces, make good on promises to root out corruption and nurture economic growth, and ultimately bring unruly militant groups under his control.

To do all that, he needs help from Sharon.

"I think the Palestinian side needs a big boost from the Israeli side in order to help us accommodate a very tense situation," said a top Abbas aide, Mohammed Shtayeh. "Cosmetic steps here and there are going to be looked at as insignificant."

A sweeping prisoner release remains the burning issue for the Palestinians.

Last week Israel approved the release of 900 of an estimated 7,000 Palestinian prisoners, a gesture meant to build goodwill between Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas.

Haim Ramon, a member of Israel's security Cabinet, said the prisoners to be freed are serving sentences of no more than four years and that none was involved in attacks on Israelis.

"It is not what we want," Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said Friday. "It is not what our people want." He said Palestinians want Israel to release prisoners who have spent more than 20 years in jail.