Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are meeting Tuesday with two top leaders of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad, ahead of U.S. President George W. Bush's arrival in Israel tomorrow. Olmert's government and the PA hope to reach a list of agreements regarding ongoing bilateral negotiations that they can present to the American president.
The objective of the Olmert-Abbas meeting, according to Israeli officials, is to discuss "negotiations and core issues." An unnamed official source in Ramallah told the Chinese news agency that the Olmert-Abbas meeting was called to "discuss recent developments, which occurred after the Annapolis peace conference held in November." Prime Minister Olmert and PA Chairman Abbas reportedly reached certain general agreements in recent weeks. Negotiating teams from Israel and the PA have held a series of meetings at which the initial outline for the agreements was developed.
Parallel with the Olmert-Abbas meeting on Tuesday, Defense Minister Barak is meeting with the PA's Fatah-affiliated Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Barak and Fayyad are to draft agreements regarding security issues affecting Israel and the PA.
The objective of the Olmert-Abbas meeting, according to Israeli officials, is to discuss "negotiations and core issues." An unnamed official source in Ramallah told the Chinese news agency that the Olmert-Abbas meeting was called to "discuss recent developments, which occurred after the Annapolis peace conference held in November." Prime Minister Olmert and PA Chairman Abbas reportedly reached certain general agreements in recent weeks. Negotiating teams from Israel and the PA have held a series of meetings at which the initial outline for the agreements was developed.
Parallel with the Olmert-Abbas meeting on Tuesday, Defense Minister Barak is meeting with the PA's Fatah-affiliated Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Barak and Fayyad are to draft agreements regarding security issues affecting Israel and the PA.