Al-Qods, 2007 Oct 25, Al-Manar

Israeli occupation Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will meet on Friday October 26 in an effort to bridge gaps over a joint statement being crafted for a US meeting, an official said. The two leaders will meet one-on-one at Olmert's residence in
Jerusalem for the second time this month.

The Zionist and Palestinian negotiating teams appointed by Olmert and Abbas met again on Wednesday to continue hammering out an agreement over the joint statement outlining a solution to the Middle East conflict.

Both sides want to present the statement at an international gathering planned in Annapolis, Maryland later this year and seen as a stepping stone to direct negotiations on a permanent “peace deal”.

The two sides have agreed that the document will refer to the thorniest problems of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict - including borders, refugees and the status of occupied al-Qods.

But while the Palestinians want a detailed agreement and timeframe for implementing solutions to the core issues, the Zionist regime seeks a looser document. Olmert and Abbas were scheduled to meet separately with US National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley on Thursday, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced a second visit to the region in less than three weeks.