Palestinians Bow To Israeli Pressure

The Palestinian cabinet, bowing to pressure from Israel, said Monday it would keep in jail a top militant whose release Israel had opposed.

In a statement, the cabinet expressed "respect for the (Palestinian) High Court of Justice decision" but said its ruling to release Ahmed Sa'adat "cannot be implemented under these circumstances because of Israeli threats."

Israel had said releasing Sa'adat would violate the deal that ended Israel's siege of Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah.

"If he is released from prison, we will have to draw the conclusions," said Israeli government spokesman Raanan Gissin. "We can demand his extradition. If he is not brought to justice, we will bring justice to him."

Sa'adat is the leader of the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine, which assassinated an Israeli cabinet minister in October.

It was announced Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will see with President George W. Bush in a hastily arranged meeting at the White House next week, just after Bush's weekend talks about the Middle East situation with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

"The visit of the Prime Minister comes in the context of ongoing consultations among senior U.S. and Israeli leaders aimed at promoting peace and security in the Middle East," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said in a statement.

The announcement of Sharon's visit, which will be Bush's sixth meeting with the Israeli leader, came as U.S. envoy William Burns and CIA Director George J. Tenet were in the Middle East as part of a new diplomatic drive to end 20 months of conflict and press for a reform of Arafat's Authority.

Tenet met earlier in the day with Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.

At the same time, Arafat appears to be getting the cold shoulder from the militant Islamic group Hamas.

Hamas said Monday it has rejected the Palestinian president's offer to join a new Palestinian Cabinet that is expected to be announced in coming days.

Sa'adat is one of six Palestinians being held in a West Bank prison in Jericho under British and U.S. supervision as part of an internationally brokered deal that ended Israel's five-week military siege of Arafat last month.

The prospect of Sa'adat's release had clouded a visit that Tenet began Monday aimed at restructuring the Palestinian security services against the backdrop of Palestinian suicide attacks in Israel and Israeli incursions in the West Bank.

Arafat has offered Cabinet posts to four militant groups that have been involved in attacks against Israel, including suicide bombings. Three rejected the offer previously, and Hamas joined them Monday.

"We don't think the participation of Hamas in the new Cabinet would add to the Palestinian cause," Mahmoud Zahar, one of the group's leaders, said in a telephone interview from the Gaza Strip.

Hamas said it wanted to see a thorough restructuring of Palestinian institutions, and was prepared to take part in municipal elections. But it did not believe that revamping the Palestinian Cabinet alone constituted a significant reform.

Of the more than 60 suicide attacks by Palestinians in the current Mideast conflict, Hamas' military wing has carried out more than any other group, including the deadliest attacks. The group has rejected Arafat's call to halt them.

Arafat and Hamas did not discuss specific Cabinet posts, only the principle of Hamas joining the government, Zahar said.

The group, which has always opposed peace negotiations with Israel, has turned down all previous offers to join the Palestinian Authority, which was established eight years ago.

Hamas has a significant following as a political movement and also draws support for welfare services it provides in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Polls have shown that Hamas' support among Palestinians has risen during the 20 months of the Palestinian uprising, with many backing its suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis.

In the West Bank, Israeli troops raided the Ain Beit Ilma refugee camp near Nablus, rounding up an estimated 400 men between ages 15 and 50 who were taken away from questioning. It marked the fourth straight day Israeli troops have searched for militants in the Nablus area, which remains under curfew. Armored vehicles entered the West Bank city of Qalqilya and imposed a curfew, witnesses said.

Troops arrested four suspected militants at a checkpoint outside the city and three others at the West Bank town of El Bireh.