Senior Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed on Friday to hold a further round of talks ahead of a summit set for next Tuesday between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, local newspaper Ha'aretz reported on its online edition.

The agreement was reached after Sharon's security advisor Dov Weissglas and Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat met Friday in Tel Aviv to iron out the details of the upcoming summit.

The summit, originally scheduled on Oct. 2, was put off due to a flare-up in violence in the West Bank and Gaza.

According to Palestinian sources, there is a "real chance" that Jordanian King Abdullah II will attend the Sharon-Abbas talks, although the issue has not yet been settled.

Erekat said the Palestinian side and Israel wanted to reach understandings on the most pressing issues, including Israel's demand that the Palestinians rein in militants and the Palestinian demand that Israel release prisoners before the summit.

Erekat and Weissglas discussed the details of the summit during their Friday meeting and tried to reach an agreement on the terms of release for long-term Palestinian prisoners and the further withdrawal of Israeli troops from West Bank cities.

Israeli government sources said Israel would consider what steps it can take to ease the situation for the Palestinians.

The next week's summit, if held, will be the third of its kind between Sharon and Abbas. The two reached a landmark truce agreement in a February summit and agreed to coordinate the implementation of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the northern West Bank in a June meeting.

Abbas is due to meet with US President George W. Bush in Washington on Oct. 20, and both Israel and the Palestinians would like to demonstrate diplomatic progress before the meeting.

Source: Xinhua