Mofaz in Egypt AN AGREEMENT between Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Defence Minister Shaoul Mofaz ended with the Israeli part agreeing to pull out from the two West Bank cities of Tulharm and Jericho. The meeting took place on Tuesday night at the Erez Crossing on the borders between northern Gaza Strip and Israel. It was part of a series of meetings that are expected to follow in the coming days between the joint Israeli- Palestinian committees for security and political affairs. However, Mofaz, who is expected today in Egypt, stressed that "we must advance very cautiously" and the security of Israeli citizens was the top priority. Mofaz is in Egypt on the invitation of President Hosni Mubarak. Abbas confirmed the pullout plan to reporters in a joint news conference with Mofaz after their meeting, which discussed several security issues between the two sides. "We reiterate our position, backed up by the international community, that the authority is ready to assume all its responsibilities in the zones where the Israeli occupation will pull back," Abbas said in his briefing to the Palestinian parliament. Insisting he was serious about sticking to his side of agreements made at February's summit, he criticised Israel's apparent reluctance to do the same. Both, Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared a mutual end to hostilities after more than four years of violence. Iran goes nuclear? IRAN announced on Saturday that it would resume production of nuclear fuel and confirmed that the Middle East ran the risk of further instability if threatened by the United Nations Security Council regarding its atomic programme. On Friday, United States officials said they were keen to discipline Iran through UN sanctions, but are still waiting for the European Union to conclude its attempts for an atomic deal. Should these endeavours prove unsuccessful, the US expects EU support for sanctions. Washington is accusing Tehran of producing fuel to manufacture atomic warheads, while Iran insists that it is only using enriched uranium in power stations. Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani stated that "if the Americans succeed in referring Iran's case to the Security Council, Iran will immediately suspend all its voluntary confidence-building measures." Head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Allaaeddin Boroujerdi said the US would not be involved in talks between Europe and Iran. Boroujerdi said he was optimistic that negotiations would enable Iran to carry on producing enriched uranium as long as it complied with the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and that the EU would be able to continue supervision and system control. Asked why the nuclear talks were taking so long, Boroujerdi replied, "in the negotiation scene, Iranians are one side whose goals are clear but the Westerners on the other side are under immense pressure exerted by the United States. The United States is determined to ruin Iran-EU talks." Sharon off to Tunisia LAST Saturday, a Tunisian opposition leader told the government that it should retract its invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to attend a UN-backed World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) this coming November, or run the risk of a "public uprising". The government had previously stated that approximately 100 government leaders, including the Israeli prime minister, had been invited to the IT summit in Tunis. Sheikh Rashed Al-Ghanoushi, leader of the banned Islamic Renaissance movement, told an Islamic website "I call on the Tunisian authorities to immediately swallow its invitation to war criminal Sharon." Police forces patrolled the streets of Tunis last Friday in an attempt to obstruct demonstrators from voicing their disapproval of the government's invitation. Leading opposition parties swore to preventing Sharon from visiting Tunisia. Shia Saudis at the polls SAUDI Arabians are getting accustomed to going to the polls. According to election results published this week, Shia candidates have been victorious in some areas of eastern Saudi Arabia, during the second round of elections in the kingdom. The Eastern Province is inhabited by a small and politically marginalised Shia community, who constitute approximately 10 per cent of the total Saudi population, which is predominantly Sunni Muslim. The victory adds a sectarian dimension to the first nationwide elections. The male-only elections constitute part of Saudi Arabia's modest endeavour to undergo political reform and as a result of pressure exerted by the United States following the 11 September attacks. The elections pertain to half the seats on municipal councils which will be able to exercise limited power. The Saudi Shia have complained of being treated as second-class citizens in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom's leaders follow the Wahabi school of Islam which is conventionally antagonistic towards Shia thought. Mohamed Al-Jabran, a resident of Hofuf in Al-Hasa region said that "participation by the Shias was very high. Our Sunni friends did not really take part as they were supposed to." He expressed hope that the winning candidates will be able to provide benefits and services for the whole community, regardless of whether they are Shia or Sunni. In the Shia town of Qatif, Shias swept the board, while in the mixed Sunni-Shia area of Al-Hasa, Shias gained five out of six seats. Sunnis were able to win in the urban centres of Dammam, Dhahran and Khobar, despite the presence of considerable Shia minorities, as a result of the backing from radical clerics. In Al-Hasa a Sunni was elected when his Shia rival was disqualified after authorities said he did not actually reside in the district. According to Jaafar Al-Shayeb, triumphant Qatif candidate, "the results of Thursday's elections have demonstrated the Shia community's desire for improved services, and to benefit from the regulations and laws applied in other places throughout the kingdom."
