Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told reporters that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has agreed not to discuss the status of Jerusalem until other issues are settled. His declaration came in the face of reports that senior government negotiators are talking with their PA counterparts on the issue, which threatens to break up the Olmert coalition government. Shas warned it will quit the coalition if talks take place on dividing the capital.

The PA has not confirmed the Prime Minister's statement that "the matter of Jerusalem is not first but last in terms of the order in which the core issues will be discussed and there is agreement by all parties involved in the negotiations."

He also said that the PA has expressed "satisfaction at the seriousness with which the talks are progressing" although PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad this week complained that Israel is stalling on negotiations and that there has been no progress.