London summit to help Palestinians: Blair

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (L) passes British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the end of a press conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said after meeting Blair that he had agreed that there was no need for Israel to attend.

Blair said the proposed summit would help the Palestinians on the path to democratic, security and economic reform.

"Everybody wants to see that overall vision of Israel confident of its own security ... but it also has to be about proper (Palestinian) democratic institutions, about proper security and proper use of the economy," Blair said in Jerusalem.

He welcomed Israel's plan to withdraw from the occupied Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank next year, saying that it could be a step toward an internationally backed "road map" for a Palestinian state.

Sharon said that he supported the aim of a London conference on Palestinian reform, but added: "We have held talks with the British about it and both sides agree there is no need for our participation."

Meanwhile, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, frontrunner to succeed Yasser Arafat, said yesterday that he expected negotiations on Israel's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip after Palestinian elections next month.

"Until now there are no official contacts or negotiations with the Israeli side, but it is natural the negotiations will begin after the presidential election," Abbas told a joint news conference with Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini.

Abbas is expected to win the Jan 9. election to succeed Arafat, whose death last month has raised new hopes for peace in the Middle East.

Abbas had earlier appeared cool to an Israeli invitation to coordinate the "Disengagement Plan" for abandoning occupied Gaza and four of 120 settlements in the West Bank in 2005.