The Bush administration still has not issued invitations to the planned international conference on the Middle East in November, the Palestinian Authority (PA) said. The American government has been careful not to issue details on the conference until it is sure it will take place under favorable conditions.

American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice bowed to Arab pressure Sunday and announced that Syrian representatives would be invited, a direct reversal of a previous position that there was no place for Syria, which is designated as a country sponsoring terrorism, to attend.

Nimer Hamas, an official in the office of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, issued a statement Monday morning that "no invitations have been issued yet to any party to attend the conference."