Top Israeli and Palestinian officials plan to meet in the next week to coordinate security arrangements for next month's Palestinian presidential election, a senior Israeli official said on Saturday. The talks between aides to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and senior Palestinians were called despite a new spasm of violence that has shattered a brief period of calm in the Palestinian territories after Yasser Arafat died on November 11.
"There are ongoing contacts ... which have intensified in the past few days, to ensure smooth and free elections" are held on January 9 to replace Arafat, an official said. He would not say when and where the meeting would be held, but that its purpose would be "to coordinate the fine details", regarding security for a three-day period including before and after the balloting. |