Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the first time in the West Bank on Monday and told him he wanted to restart negotiations soon on establishing a Palestinian state.
After months of resistance, Olmert expanded the scope of discussions with Abbas to include so-called "fundamental issues" that are key to ending the conflict. Israeli officials balked at describing the session as an attempt to address final-status issues such as borders and the future of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees, saying the two leaders would seek instead an agreement on principles.
But Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the meeting did tackle "end-game" issues. Salam Fayyad, appointed prime minister by Abbas after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June, said the leaders discussed "how to reach an agreement on an independent Palestinian state as quickly as possible".
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the focus on fundamental issues was positive because "ultimately it is going to be these two parties that are going to have to make the difficult decisions for peace".
Washington is pressing Olmert and Abbas to agree on broad statehood principles before a Middle East conference proposed by US President George W. Bush is convened, most likely in November, Israeli officials and Western diplomats said.
"I came here in order to discuss with you the fundamental issues outstanding between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, hoping that this will lead us soon into negotiations about the creation of a Palestinian state," Olmert said, with Abbas standing at his side, at the start of their talks in Jericho.
"I want to do this sooner rather than later," a spokesman for Olmert quoted him as telling Abbas on Palestinian statehood during the three-hour meeting. The two leaders met under heavy security at a resort hotel in Jericho, less than a kilometre (half a mile) from the last Israeli checkpoint at the entrance to the West Bank city.
UN special envoy to the Middle East Michael Williams said an agreement on principles could be the starting point for more serious negotiations after the US-sponsored conference. If progress is made, Western officials said the parties would appoint groups to tackle the most divisive issues. Israeli and Palestinian officials said the Bush administration had made clear he wanted a breakthrough in his last 17 months in office.
But it is uncertain whether Olmert, whose popularity plummeted after last year's inconclusive war in Lebanon, can make major concessions, particularly on settlements. Olmert was the first Israeli prime minister to visit a West Bank city since 2000. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said this showed a "new level of trust" between the sides.