News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) President Shimon Peres has scheduled a meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas and PA negotiator Saeb Erakat at noon Tuesday. They will discuss the ongoing negotiations for the establishment of a new Arab state within Israel's current borders as well as joint economic ventures. The meeting is rare, and previous talks on the negotiations have involved the PA and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's aides.

President Peres earlier this month was overheard at a reception to say that Israel and the PA would never reach an agreement so long as Abbas was in power. He denied having made the statement.