Analysis / PA, Israel polish up their U.S. agendas...

With his trip next week to Egypt and the United
States, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas
aims to delineate a new phase in efforts to change
the government in Ramallah.

Abbas is now the senior
representative of the
Palestinians to the
international community. Even
if Yasser Arafat plants
"kashrut supervisors" in his
entourage, it is still the new
prime minister of Palestine,
not its old president, that the
television cameras will zoom in

on as the President of the United States covers
him with accolades.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office is
expressing its enthusiastic support for the
visit, at least outwardly, emphasizing that the
invitation was extended in full coordination
with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He is
expected to boost the success of the visit by
announcing the release of Palestinian
prisoners, and perhaps easing restrictions on
residents of the territories too.


A withdrawal from additional West Bank cities is
not on the agenda at the moment, but the
dismantling of settler outposts will resume
before Sharon's own trip to Washington in about
ten days.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=319470&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y