News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has agreed to give the Palestinian Authority at least 89 percent of Judea and Samaria, according to Jordanian journalist Hamada Farana.  Farana, who is considered an expert on Palestinian Authority affairs, said Israel and the PA are conducting serious talks over the border of a PA state in Judea and Samaria.

However, Farana said, the two sides face serious disagreements.  While Olmert has offered 89 percent of Judea and Samaria, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas insists that Israel hand over at least 98.5 percent of the area.

Abbas’s aides have warned that Abbas will take unspecified “dramatic steps” if his demands are not met.  A senior PA official quoted Wednesday in Al-Quds Al-Arabi said that if Israel and the PA did not reach an agreement by the end of 2008, Abbas would announce the end of negotiations with Israel.