Olmert, Abbas to meet Sunday -officials

JERUSALEM, Mar 9 (Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet on Sunday, officials said, but both sides sought to play down the chances of progress.

Olmert has vowed to boycott the Palestinian unity government that Abbas is forming with Hamas Islamists unless it recognises Israel, renounces violence and accepts interim peace deals as demanded by the Quartet of West Asia mediators.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said after Friday prayers the unity government could be unveiled as early as Monday, once Abbas returns to the Gaza Strip and finalises the cabinet line-up.

''The meeting is definitely on Sunday,'' Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said of the planned summit between Abbas and Olmert, their third since December.

Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin said some details of the meeting had yet to be finalised. ''It will most likely be Sunday,'' she said.

At the meeting, Olmert will tell Abbas the new government must meet the demands of the Quartet, Israeli officials said.

Olmert will also ask Abbas to account for 100 million dollars in Palestinian tax money which Israel transferred to him earlier this year. Some Israeli officials questioned whether the money was used as promised.

Abbas will try to convince Olmert to soften his opposition to the unity government and is expected to raise the possibility of expanding a shaky Gaza truce to the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said.

Israeli officials say they will not consider expanding the ceasefire until Palestinians stop firing rockets from the Gaza Strip.

Some Palestinian militants oppose expanding the truce and Haniyeh said he was unaware of any plans for Hamas to call on other factions to ''broaden the calm''.

The unity government agreement contains a vague promise to ''respect'' previous Israeli-Palestinian pacts. But it does not commit the incoming government to abide by those pacts, nor to recognise Israel and renounce violence.

Abbas yesterday said the unity government was ''99 per cent'' agreed but would not be announced until next week.

''I can confirm that the remaining distance to forming a national unity government is short,'' Haniyeh said today. ''These are simple matters ... and we will finish them when the president (Abbas) returns to Gaza on Monday.'' Abbas and Olmert held a three-way summit last month with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that was overshadowed by differences over the power-sharing deal.

Rice is expected to return to the region for separate talks with Olmert and Abbas later this month.

REUTERS DKA RAI1859