Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas will meet on Tuesday in Jerusalem to push forward
peace efforts, official sources from both sides said late
Sunday.
Media reports quoted an Israeli government official as saying
that during the coming summit meeting, Olmert and Abbas, along with
their senior advisors, would discuss progress in ongoing peace
efforts, while trying to build on matters discussed in previous
meetings.
The talks will be held ahead of a US-proposed international
conference on Mideast peace in November, during which the two
leaders will discuss "ways to promote the peace process and
alleviate the living conditions of the Palestinians", said the
Israeli official.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian side also confirmed that Abbas and
Olmert are planning to meet soon.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said "we hope that it
will take place very soon."
He, however, noted that the date of the meeting was not yet
definite as "we are still preparing for the meeting".
Olmert and Abbas last met on Aug. 6 in the West Bank city of
Jericho in the wake that the Islamist Hamas seized power in the
Gaza Strip in mid-June after defeating Fatah forces loyal to
Abbas.
Following the event, Washington and Israel are now seeking to
boost the secular Abbas and isolate Hamas which has been considered
by them as a terror group.
(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2007)
