US secretary of State Colin Powell said on Tuesday that plans for Palestinian security reforms were on track despite a negative report about recent talks between the Palestinian Interior Minister and Central Intelligence Agency Chief George Tenet. Powell said he spoke to Tenet on Tuesday about his meeting on Saturday with Interior Minister Abdel Razzak al-Yahya, whose place at the helm of security forces was held by President Yasser Arafat until a Cabinet reshuffle in June. ‘‘The Palestinians had good meetings with Tenet and I talked to him this morning after seeing one account that suggested they did not,’’ Powell said. ‘‘But they were very positive meetings and Tenet is in touch with the Palestinians. I expect him to be calling them again today and to start to operationalize it,’’ Powell said, asked about prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian security deal that hinges on reforming Palestinian security forces. Israeli top court blocks expulsion of Palestinians JERUSALEM: Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the deportation of three relatives of Palestinian militants in response to an emergency appeal, court officials said. A court spokeswoman said the Court Justice Dalia Dorner had issued a temporary injunction against the expulsion order handed down by an Israeli military tribunal. (Reuters) The account Powell referred to was apparently a New York Times article Tuesday that quoted Bush administration officials as saying Tenet was skeptical about prospects for a rapid organization of a new Palestinian security force. A CIA official said the article ‘‘mischaracterizes the director’s views.’’ But he declined to say what his views were. Progress on rebuilding security forces that Palestinians say have been wrecked by Israel’s campaign against suicide bombers is seen as key to getting peace talks back on track. Proposed reforms include a merger of the branches of the Palestinian Authority’s security services in a bid to make them more accountable and able to rein in Islamic militants responsible for attacks on Israelis. ‘‘Tenet wants to lean heavily on the Egyptians and Jordanians for a lot of legwork of the retraining and details. They are surprisingly on board for this,’’ one official said. (Reuters)
