Olmert, Abbas try to narrow statehood differences

JERUSALEM, Sep 10 (Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met today to see if they could narrow differences over Palestinian statehood ahead of a US-sponsored conference in November.

Olmert's spokeswoman said the leaders agreed to appoint teams to try to hammer out details of a Palestinian state.

Israel and the Palestinians have been keen to show progress in rapprochement efforts for next week's visit of US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

Washington is pushing a reluctant Israel to make tangible progress to avoid disappointment at the conference, which Western diplomats said could culminate in the relaunching of long-stalled peace talks.

''The teams that the president and prime minister decided upon in their private meeting are to go forward in trying to achieve a joint vision of a two-state solution,'' Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin said after he met Abbas at his Jerusalem office.

Abbas said before the talks he hoped for a breakthrough.

''But I don't know what are the obstacles -- and we have many of the obstacles -- which will face us. We hope that we can overcome all kinds of obstacles,'' Abbas told Italy's RAI television.

Olmert and Abbas have been meeting regularly since Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip in June. The bilateral meetings and the conference are part of a US-led campaign to shore up the Fatah leader's hold on power in the occupied West Bank and to isolate Hamas in Gaza.

It is unclear how any agreements reached between the leaders can be put in place so long as the territories remain divided.

Olmert has been weakened politically since last year's war in Lebanon, raising doubts among Israelis and Palestinians over his ability to deliver on any peace promises.

Salam Fayyad, whom Abbas appointed prime minister after dismissing the Hamas-led government in June, attended today's session, officials said.

Olmert is seeking a ''declaration of principles'' in time for the November conference. Abbas wants a more explicit ''framework'' agreement with a timeline for implementation on the core issues of borders, Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

NEXT STEP Senior Palestinian officials said some progress had been made in recent meetings to narrow the gaps over the nature of a future Palestinian state but that the sides have not yet reached the point of drafting principles.

''Today we hope the two leaders will take it to the next step and start the drafting stage,'' Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said.

Israeli officials said the talks had started to touch on core issues.

A senior Israeli government official said Olmert did not intend to go ahead with plans to release from prison 100 members of Abbas's Fatah faction ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins this week. The prisoner release would take place at a later date, the official said.

The United States has not yet spelled out publicly what it hopes to achieve at the November conference and has not sent out invitations, but it wants Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, which does not have relations with Israel, to attend.

''(US President George W) Bush has not called for a photo-op meeting. There will be an important announcement regarding final status at the conference,'' said one senior Western diplomat who is familiar with the discussions.

The Palestinians want a final deal that leads to a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank, including Arab East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, lands Israel occupied during the 1967 West Asia war.

REUTERS GL RAI1900