Sharon Says Tough Measures Could Lead to Peace Talks
Mr. Sharon offered a comforting assessment of Israel's condition, declaring that his government had prevented economic instability over the past year, and that the country was prepared for an Iraqi attack against Israel if the United States attacked Iraq.

But the comments about potential talks with the Palestinians coincided with a report in the newspaper Yediot Ahronot that Mr. Sharon had agreed to meet with an unnamed senior Palestinian official in the next few days. They came as signs emerged that ranking Palestinians were seeking an end to the violence, including a denunciation of suicide attacks, by the Palestinian interior minister, Abdel Razak Yehiyeh.

In another conciliatory sign, Mr. Sharon and Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer announced on Tuesday that they would allow the Palestinian Legislative Council to meet in Ramallah next Monday for the first time in more than a year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/05/international/middleeast/05SHAR.html