News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Gaps between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel on a joint statement before the Annapolis conference next week include PA objections to the use of the word "terrorism," The New York Times reported Thursday. The newspaper obtained a copy of the draft dated November 17, which may have been changed as both sides try to meet American demands for a pre-conference agreement.
 
The two sides also have had trouble defining the would-be announcement, with the PA wanting to call it a document and Israel insisting it be termed a statement. More serious objections pertain to the PA objection to agreeing that a new PA state would be a Palestinian homeland while what is left of Israel would be a Jewish state.