Talks Advance Plan For Gaza Airport Israel May Reduce Settlement Construction For A Few Months

In a first sign of progress after months of crisis, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators said Monday they were closer to agreement on the operation of a Palestinian airport in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli leaders, meanwhile, hinted at flexibility on Jewish settlements, suggesting they were willing to shelve new construction projects for a few months.

Opening the airport, which Palestinians envision will bring in a half-million passengers a year, is of enormous symbolic as well as practical importance to the Palestinians. Most of Gaza has been autonomous since May 1994, but Israel has maintained strict control over the airspace.

The lack of a working airport contributes to Gaza’s economic and commercial isolation. Even fledgling Palestinian Airlines must fly in and out of the Mediterranean resort of El Arish, across the border in Egypt.

The status of the airport is being discussed by one of nine committees working on outstanding issues from already signed peace accords.

“The Palestinian side wants implementation on the ground - that’s what counts, and that’s what we are here to achieve,” said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

U.S. envoy Dennis Ross returned to the Middle East on Sunday to supervise the work of the committees and has been shuttling back and forth between the two sides. Ross met early Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but there was no statement after the closed-door session.

Emerging from talks later in the day with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Ross said the sessions involving American, Israeli and Palestinian officials were proving productive.

“We are giving this a push,” Ross said.

Erekat said Washington must press for further Israeli troop pullbacks and an end to unilateral Israeli actions such as settlement building in the West Bank.

“We believe it is a must now for the American side to help us in trying to identify the scope and size of further redeployments,” Erakat said.

Monday’s meetings came amid indications Israel might be softening its stance on settlement construction following a U.S. demand for a “time-out” in new building. Foreign Minister David Levy told Israel radio that Israel would limit construction in Jewish settlements to a “necessary minimum.”