Failure of Abbas-Sharon summit expected: Jihad

The Islamic Jihad (Holy War) asserted Wednesday that the failure of a summit between Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was expected.

"The failure of the summit was expected due to Israel's killing and escalation in the Palestinian territories before the summit," Islamic Jihad political leader Khaled Al-Batch told reporters in Gaza City.

"We expected nothing positive out of this summit. We said that it would not stop the separation wall. It would not stop arrests, and it would not stop Israeli plans to turn the holy city of Jerusalem into a Jewish one," he added.

Al-Batch said both the Palestinians and the Israelis had certainly known that the failure was "a result of pressure by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice," who visited the region two days before the summit.

Abbas and Sharon held a summit on Tuesday in Jerusalem but failed to reach consensus over key issues.

The Islamic Jihad, a small militant group against Israeli occupation, claimed responsibility for the Tel Aviv attack on Feb. 25, which killed five Israelis.

Source: Xinhua