Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed on Wednesday that formal negotiations on Palestinian statehood would begin after a US-sponsored conference expected next month, officials from both sides said.
But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert balked at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's call for setting a specific timeframe for resolving final-status issues, including borders and the fate of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.
"After the November conference, they will start to negotiate a final agreement but with no timetable," said a senior Israeli official after Olmert hosted Abbas at his Jerusalem residence. Israel has previously stopped short of saying the conference would restart final-status talks that collapsed in early 2001.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the conference "will launch permanent-status treaty negotiations" based on a joint document that will be presented to the forum.
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