Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday he was not sure he would be able to reach a deal with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on statehood principles before a US-sponsored conference in November.
Olmert made the comments after some members of his centrist Kadima party called for a fuller accounting of his talks with Abbas.
"I have been holding meetings with Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen (Abbas) and I hope that in the near future this will lead to a ... joint declaration," Olmert told reporters.
"If we can achieve a draft by November, we will achieve it, but I am not sure we will be able to do that."
Olmert is seeking agreement on a broadbrush "declaration of principles" whereas Abbas wants a more explicit "framework agreement" with a timeline for implementation on the core issues of borders, Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
Olmert will meet with international envoy Tony Blair in Jerusalem today. He will also meet this week with Assistant US Secretary of State David Welch, diplomats said.
Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Olmert and Abbas planned to meet "in the next few days" to try to narrow their differences.
A dearth of details about their private talks have stirred speculation in Israel that Olmert plans to boost Abbas through sweeping diplomatic "concessions" such as a pledge to delineate a future Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank. Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June.
Olmert said a document has yet to be agreed with Abbas. If an agreement is reached, "I am certain I will win support both in my party and from the people of Israel," he said.
The United States has yet to spell out what it hopes to achieve at the conference, which is expected to take place in the Washington, D.C., area in mid-to-late November.
Western diplomats said Abbas and Olmert are likely to attend if enough progress is made.
"We cannot allow it to fail," Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, told a news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
During his visit, Welch intends to "sound out the parties" about what they would be prepared to do to reach a deal on principles, a senior Israeli official said.
US and Israeli officials have sought to play down the Bush administration's direct role in crafting such an agreement. "He (Welch) is not bringing any documents," the senior Israeli official said.
Abbas's Fatah faction lost control of the Gaza Strip in June to Hamas Islamists shunned by the West. Olmert also has been weakened politically by his handling of last year's Lebanon war, raising doubts among Israelis and Palestinians over the two leaders' ability to deliver on any peace promises.
After a rocket fired by Gaza militants landed in the vicinity of an Israeli school, Livni said the Israeli government should consider new measures to counter the rocket attacks.
"It is unbearable," Livni said.
Source: China Daily/agencies
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