JUNE 6TH 06 (666)

Story 1-2 minor quakes in Turkey. 2-Olmert - Mubarik talk. 3-ARAB infighting

Two moderate quakes hit western Turkey, no damage ,Mon Jun 5, 6:23 AM ET

ANKARA (AFP) - Two earthquakes measuring 4.5 and 4.1 on the open-ended Richter scale have rocked western Turkey, sending panicked residents into the streets but causing no casualties, officials said. The epicenter of the tremors, which hit at 7:23 am Monday and again 15 minutes later, was the town of Buharkent, in the Aegean province of Aydin which is popular with foreign tourists, the Istanbul-based Kandilli observatory said.

Buharkent Mayor Fevzi Uzun said the tremors caused short-lived panic among residents, but no casualties or damage were reported.There is no destruction resulting from the quake... People have calmed down and returned to their daily lives,Uzun told Anatolia news agency. Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which is crossed by several seismological fault lines. Some 20,000 people perished in two massive tremors in heavily industrialized northwestern Turkey in August and November 1999.

Olmert and Mubarak Discuss PA at Sharm el-SheikhBy Hana Levi Julian (Aruts 7 news)

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Sunday evening to discuss mutual concerns about the current situation in the Palestinian Authority. The two leaders met at the presidential estate in Sharm el-Sheikh. Although Olmert and Mubarak have had numerous phone conversations since Olmert took over the functions of comatose ex-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in January, this was the first meeting between the two men since Olmert became prime minister.

Olmert publicly agreed to meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the possibility of returning to the negotiating table for peace talks based on the Road Map plan. He stated, however, that the PA would be expected to keep its end of the deal at each stage of the plan, including disarming and dismantling terrorist organizations. During the meeting and the news conference that followed, Olmert tendered an official apology to Mubarak for last week’s shooting in which two Egyptians were killed; see separate story. The agenda for the meeting between the two leaders included ways to strengthen PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ position within the Hamas-led PA government, as well as the transfer of humanitarian aid to the PA population.Olmert summarized his recent meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, as well as recent moves to facilitate the transfer of food, medical supplies and equipment into Gaza.Egyptian-Israeli cooperation and the delicate issue of Olmert’s unilateral withdrawal plan were also topics for discussion.

The prime minister told the Egyptian president that a negotiated peace plan would be his first priority – but if that failed, there would be no other choice but to activate unilateral withdrawal and set permanent borders independently. Mubarak is scheduled to meet with Abbas on Monday, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Information.

More Deaths in Hamas-Fatah FightingBy Hillel Fendel (Aruts 7 NEWS)

A state of emergency has been declared in Gaza, as fighting between Hamas and Fatah gunmen continues to claim victims. The latest victim: a Hamas military official killed by a bomb in his home. Officials have instructed medical aid workers to wear protective vests, in light of the feared escalation in fighting.The latest killing, around 11:00 this morning (Monday), was originally reported to be the result of a bomb placed by Fatah men in a Hamas official's home.

Later reports, however, stated the bomb might have been one the victim himself was working on. Among the dead in last night's fighting were the brother and 20-year-old pregnant wife of a Hamas terrorist; the targeted Hamas man is himself listed in very critical condition. The incident occurred in Khan Yunis, adjacent to what used to be N'vei Dekalim in southern Gush Katif.

Elsewhere, at a mourners' tent for a Fatah police officer in Gaza City, shots rang out and killed at least two mourners. The victims, like the officer, were Fatah men who were killed by Hamas gunmen.In a third reported incident, a Hamas operative was killed as he was shot while driving in Gaza City.Later in the day, militants took over and damaged a Fatah TV station. A Hamas spokesman denied that his organization was involved.Tensions were expected to abate yesterday, following the beginning of the payment of salaries to the more than 150,000 Palestinian Authority employees for the first time in three months. The salaries are being funded by interest-free loans granted the PA by local banks. However, the payments did not go smoothly today, and dozens of angry Arabs who were not paid rioted inside at least two bank offices, leading to their closure.

Agitation may also increase as the leaders of Fatah and Hamas find themselves unable to reach an agreement on the issues of dispute between them. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) says that if Hamas does not accept, by tonight, the paper known as the Prisoners' Document, he will call a referendum tomorrow. Hamas leader Ismail Haniye, however, who serves as prime minister in the Palestinian Authority, says that the people already said their piece in the January elections.

He refuses to either recognize the Prisoner's Document or to agree to a referendum.The document in question recognizes Israel's pre-1967 borders, calls for an Arab state in all of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and formulates guidelines forunderstanding between Hamas and Fatah.

Hamas objects to the clauses that call for adopting international resolutions to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and considering the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the PA's Arabs.Yesterday (Sunday), Abbas refused to talk by phone with Haniye, and sent two representatives to speak with him instead. Haniye said he had no time to talk with them. Another attempt at a meeting between Haniye and Abbas' representatives will be made today.
Three Arabs were injured yesterday in southern Gaza when a political argument deteriorated into a shootout between Fatah and Hamas gunmen.