Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet on Tuesday in Jerusalem to push forward peace efforts, official sources from both sides said late Sunday.
Media reports quoted an Israeli government official as saying that during the coming summit meeting, Olmert and Abbas, along with their senior advisors, would discuss progress in ongoing peace efforts, while trying to build on matters discussed in previous meetings.
The talks will be held ahead of a US-proposed international conference on Mideast peace in November, during which the two leaders will discuss "ways to promote the peace process and alleviate the living conditions of the Palestinians", said the Israeli official.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian side also confirmed that Abbas and Olmert are planning to meet soon.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said "we hope that it will take place very soon."
He, however, noted that the date of the meeting was not yet definite as "we are still preparing for the meeting".
Olmert and Abbas last met on Aug. 6 in the West Bank city of Jericho in the wake that the Islamist Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in mid-June after defeating Fatah forces loyal to Abbas.
Following the event, Washington and Israel are now seeking to boost the secular Abbas and isolate Hamas which has been considered by them as a terror group.
(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2007)
