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Palestine Media Center - PMC [Official arm of the PA] 17 April 2005. Revealing that Finance Minister Salam Fayyadh is leading a Palestinian delegation in Washington to prepare for President Mahmoud Abbas' upcoming visit to the United States, Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Shaath said Sunday that the Palestine National Authority (PNA) is seeking clarifications from the US Administration about President Bush's statement on creating "a provisional authority" in the Gaza Strip after his meeting with the Israeli PM last week. "To avoid any misunderstanding, we have contacted the Americans and requested clarifications," Shaath told the Ramallah-based Al-Ayyam daily on Sunday. "We refuse any changes to the legal status of the Gaza Strip," he said, adding: "The Gaza Strip will be administrated entirely by the PNA, with an emphasis on treating the West Bank and Gaza Strip as one entity," he indicated. The Palestinian leadership will send a clear letter to the US Administration "welcoming what President (George W.) Bush said about stopping the (illegal Jewish) settlement and the so-called settlement growth while stressing that his statements should be completely and strictly implemented," Shaath said. "We insist that any discussion on the issue of settlements must be guided by international law as well as by the US President's vision for ending the (Israeli) occupation that began in 1967," he said, adding: "We will not accept anything about annexing settlement blocs." Shaath also revealed that Finance Minister Salam Fayyadh is now leading a Palestinian delegation in Washington to prepare for President Mahmoud Abbas' upcoming visit to the United States, expected early next month. He described Abbas' visit to US as "very important." On Saturday, Abbas chaired a meeting of the Higher Committee for Negotiations in Ramallah before leaving to Jordan and Egypt for summit meetings with King Abdullah II and President Hosni Mubarak. The Committee discussed the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh understandings between Abbas and the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on February 8, the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and thereafter, the role of the UN-adopted roadmap peace plan vis-a-vis both the "understandings" and the "withdrawal," and President Abbas' visit to United States and thereafter, Shaath said. The Minister said that all work has stopped in all sub-committees formed according to the Sharm el-Sheikh understandings. As regards the intended Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Shaath said it must be carried out within the framework of the "roadmap" and not be an alternative to it. Criticizing Israel's unilateral approach Shaath said: "Israel insists to go it alone but nonetheless speaks about coordination (with Palestinians). I believe that when Israel talks about coordination it means informing us of what the Jewish state is doing" only.
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