Olmert to meet Abbas, seek prisoner release
Tuesday, 20 November 2007
JERUSALEM, Nov 19 (Reuters): Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asked his cabinet Monday to release up to 450 Palestinian prisoners ahead of talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on a US-sponsored conference on statehood.
The meeting between the two leaders in Jerusalem later in the day will be their last before the Annapolis, Maryland conference, expected to be held on Nov. 26-27.
"I will leave at the beginning of the week for the Annapolis meeting," Olmert said at the start of the weekly cabinet session, voicing hope Israel and the Palestinians could still reach agreement "on the procedural side" of the conference.
Olmert's office said he planned to go to Egypt Tuesday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The Israeli leader's trip appeared to be part of a diplomatic effort to ensure broad Arab participation in the Annapolis conference. Arab League foreign ministers meet in Cairo Friday to decide whether to attend the meeting. Disputes between Israel and the Palestinians have cast doubt on chances for an agreement before the parley on a joint document meant to address in general terms issues such as borders, and the future of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.
US and Israeli officials said the paper was not a precondition for the gathering, called by President George W Bush to bolster Abbas and launch long-stalled peace talks after Hamas Islamists took over the Gaza Strip in June.
Israel, the Palestinians and the United States said the centrepiece of the conference would be an agreement to begin formal negotiations on a Palestinian state, with the goal of reaching a deal before Bush leaves office in January 2009.
Olmert told his cabinet the post-Annapolis negotiations would be "very intensive and serious and deal with all of the core issues that are part of the process that should lead to a two-state solution".
The meeting between the two leaders in Jerusalem later in the day will be their last before the Annapolis, Maryland conference, expected to be held on Nov. 26-27.
"I will leave at the beginning of the week for the Annapolis meeting," Olmert said at the start of the weekly cabinet session, voicing hope Israel and the Palestinians could still reach agreement "on the procedural side" of the conference.
Olmert's office said he planned to go to Egypt Tuesday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The Israeli leader's trip appeared to be part of a diplomatic effort to ensure broad Arab participation in the Annapolis conference. Arab League foreign ministers meet in Cairo Friday to decide whether to attend the meeting. Disputes between Israel and the Palestinians have cast doubt on chances for an agreement before the parley on a joint document meant to address in general terms issues such as borders, and the future of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.
US and Israeli officials said the paper was not a precondition for the gathering, called by President George W Bush to bolster Abbas and launch long-stalled peace talks after Hamas Islamists took over the Gaza Strip in June.
Israel, the Palestinians and the United States said the centrepiece of the conference would be an agreement to begin formal negotiations on a Palestinian state, with the goal of reaching a deal before Bush leaves office in January 2009.
Olmert told his cabinet the post-Annapolis negotiations would be "very intensive and serious and deal with all of the core issues that are part of the process that should lead to a two-state solution".