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Rice to Meet Sharon Reps in Washington

Representatives of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet in Washington on Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The focus of the meeting will be the continuation of positive diplomatic developments on the Israel-Palestinian front and in particular, issues that will be discussed in next week’s summit meeting between Sharon and Mahmoud ‘Abbas, the newly elected Palestinian leader.

Of concern is the overwhelming victory by the Hamas terrorist organization in last Thursday’s municipal elections in the Gaza Strip and what it means to chances that ‘Abbas will be able to put a halt to terror attacks against Israeli targets.

Rice is expected to ask the Israelis to further explain plans they announced last summer to expropriate Palestinian-owned land in east Jerusalem neighborhoods.

The Sharon government said it will invoke a little-used law dating back to the first days of statehood that allows the government to confiscate land held by absentee owners.

In this case, Israel is declaring owners who are cut off from their land by virtue of the controversial security fence to be “absentee” and the land, therefore, subject to confiscation by the state.