Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.
August 31, 2008

Israeli, Palestinian Leaders Discuss Peace Process
--------------------------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1DF69B6:A6F02AD83191E160A4CD34AC9ABA2ED62E7CA1C1B166B639&
 
Meeting follows US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit;
Palestinians and Israelis call possibility of reaching peace agreement
by end of year 'impossible' 
Israeli and Palestinian leaders met in a fresh effort to advance the
peace process. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, left, and
Israel's PM Ehud Olmert meet in Jerusalem, 31 Aug 2008Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his
official residence in Jerusalem. The meeting took place several days
after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited here to push for
a peace agreement by the end of the year. Both sides say a full peace
treaty is impossible now, so Mr. Olmert proposed formulating a
memorandum of understanding to present to the United States. "And the
idea of working on a framework, a framework of principles, that is good
for us, that is good for the Palestinians, that is good for everyone,"
said his spokesman Mark Regev. The Palestinians rejected the idea of a
partial agreement, saying gaps remain wide on core issues such as the
status!
  of Jerusalem, Jewish settlements, and Palestinian refugees.

"You need to decide on the parameters of how these issues are solved,
how Jerusalem is solved, how refugees is solved, how water is solved,
once and for all," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. Mr. Olmert
wants to move quickly because he plans to resign in mid-September over a
corruption scandal, though he could remain in office as caretaker prime
minister for many months. Israeli opposition leader and former Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that as a lame duck, Mr. Olmert has no
mandate to make territorial concessions. Mr. Netanyahu said the
government is trying to redeem itself with dubious agreements with the
Palestinians, but he said it has lost the confidence of the Israeli
public. 


.