Sharon calls Abbas after election win

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called Mahmoud Abbas Tuesday to congratulate him for winning the Palestinian presidential elections, the latest sign the two sides are eager to restart peace efforts after years of stalemate.\nSince Abbas' landslide victory Sunday, Israelis and Palestinians have signaled their readiness to return to the negotiating table. The election and the formation of a new Israeli government that includes the dovish Labor Party have raised hopes around the world that talks might soon resume.\nTuesday's phone call, confirmed by Israeli and Palestinian officials, was the first direct contact between the two leaders since the election.\nSharon "congratulated him on his personal achievement and his victory in the elections and wished him luck," said a statement issued by the prime minister's office. "They agreed they would continue talking in the near future."\nEarlier Tuesday, Sharon told his new Cabinet he hoped to meet Abbas in the "near future." He told the ministers the meeting would focus on security issues, especially efforts to "halt terrorism," according to participants.\nAbbas is widely considered more moderate than his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, who died Nov. 11. Israel refused to negotiate with Arafat, accusing him of encouraging violence during the past four years of fighting between the two sides.\nThe last meeting between Israeli and Palestinian premiers was in August 2003, when Sharon met Abbas during his brief term as Palestinian prime minister.\nFresh from his victory, Abbas expressed hope late Monday that the sides will be able to return to the negotiating table.\n"We extend our hands to our neighbors," Abbas said. "We are ready for peace, peace based on justice. We hope that their response will be positive."\nPalestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said plans for the meeting were still in an early stage.\n"When the right time comes, we will go for a well-prepared meeting. We will not go just for a meeting, but for a useful one," he said.\nIn another development, Palestinian National Security Adviser Jibril Rajoub resigned Tuesday. In a statement, he said he was giving a chance to Abbas to appoint his own adviser, leaving open the possibility he would return to the post.\nRajoub, one of the most powerful figures in the West Bank, was Arafat's security adviser for the last year of his reign.\nAfter shunning Arafat for the last four years, Israeli officials have said they are eager to get to work with Abbas.\nA senior Israeli Defense Ministry official said Tuesday that Israel was ready to hand over security duties in West Bank cities to the Palestinians.\nThe official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said discussions with the Palestinians on the issue likely would begin within days.\nIsrael has had security control over all West Bank cities since launching a large offensive in April 2002 in response to a suicide bombing that killed 29 people in the coastal city of Netanya. But it eased its military presence ahead of Sunday's election, raising the possibility of a more permanent pullback.