PALESTINE - Aug 23 - Abbas Denies Secret Talks With Israel.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denies recent Israeli media reports that secret peace talks have made progress on some of the most sensitive issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the latest account, the Israeli daily Haaretz said that Israel had proposed to the Palestinians a corridor linking the West Bank with the Gaza Strip in an exchange of territory. The report, citing unidentified Israeli government officials, said the secret talks were aimed at reaching the outlines of a peace deal before an upcoming US-sponsored regional conference. Abbas' office called the Haaretz report "baseless". In a statement, it said, "there is no secret channel and what was published about scenarios and expectations in some Israeli media is not true". It said Abbas has made his positions clear in meetings with Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and repeated to the media. "These talks have not reached a level of negotiations with details, as was reported in Israeli newspapers". The Palestinians consider a territorial link between Gaza and the West Bank to be vital for establishing an independent state. The two territories are located on either end of Israel, creating security issues for Israel that have become even more complicated since Hamas took control of Gaza in June. Israel considers Hamas a terrorist group. According to Haaretz, the Palestinians will have control of the corridor, but Israel will maintain sovereignty and it will only begin to operate after the PA under Abbas reasserts control over the Gaza Strip. The Haaretz report said that Israel believed the move would help Abbas and Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad garner public support in Gaza. In Gaza City, a spokesman for Hamas said yesterday that the deposed government had decided to merge the Executive Force of the Interior Ministry into the PA police force. Taher Al-Nono told reporters that his government took the decision in order to carry out its duties and restore internal security. He said the government made the decision during the weekly Cabinet meeting in Gaza. On April 21, then Interior Minister Saeed Siyam announced the formation of the Executive Force to help end chaos in the Palestinian territories. But Abbas refused permission for the formation of the force. Siyam had named Jamal Abu Samhadaneh, commander of the Popular Resistance Committee, as the head of the new security forces. The Popular Resistance Committee is a militant group close to Hamas. Abu Samhadaneh was killed with three of his comrades in an Israeli airstrike shortly after his appointment. Senior Fatah leader in Gaza Ahmad Helis said yesterday that the Hamas movement and its Executive Force, "are the major reason for the suffering of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip".