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Senior Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Quriea. (AP)
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Last update - 17:24 30/10/2007
PA negotiator: No talks without timeline for Palestinian state
By Haaretz Service and The Associated Press
tags: Peace process, Abu Ala 

The chief Palestinian peace negotiator said Tuesday that there would be no talks with Israel unless a deadline is set for establishing a Palestinian state.

Palestinian officials have repeatedly said they want a detailed timeline for talks that are expected to begin in earnest after a U.S.-sponsored Mideast conference in November or December.


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he comment by Ahmed Quriea, known as Abu Ala, was seen as the first indication that Palestinians could scuttle negotiations altogether if that demand is not met.

"The Israeli prime minister [Ehud Olmert] has stated that he will not accept a timetable, and we say we will not accept negotiations without a timetable," Quriea said at a news conference with the EU's external affairs commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

Olmert announced Monday that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Aides later said that treatment for the cancer will begin only after the Annapolis peace conference.

Later, in a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Olmert said that "I will continue working at full pace... and I will attend the international meeting in Annapolis before the operation."

Olmert also spoke on the telephone with the Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and told him that he intends to continue their meetings as planned.

No date has been set for the U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace summit, planned for next month in Annapolis, Maryland, because the two sides remain so far apart on the starting point for talks.

Israel wants a vague, joint statement of objectives. The Palestinians want a detailed outline that would address core issues that need to be resolved before peace can be achieved and a Palestinian state can be established.

These issues are final borders, sovereignty over Jerusalem, and a solution for Palestinian refugees.

Olmert and Abbas have met several times in recent months to try to come up with a joint platform ahead of the meeting, and negotiating teams from both sides have recently entered the process.

At Tuesday's news conference, Qureia indicated the talks weren't going well.

"We haven't gotten closer yet concerning the issues, he said. We are talking in general about the issues that should be included in the document. (But) we haven't yet touched the core issues."

"What the Palestinians want," he said, "is a clear and specific document, without vagueness, that lays the basic foundation for all final status issues. Without that, the conference will be hindered."

Qureia was one of the negotiators of the 1993 accord Israel and the Palestinians reached in the Norwegian capital of Oslo, which called for a final peace deal five years later.

"In 2007, the Palestinians are still waiting, and we don't want to go for open-ended negotiations," he said Tuesday.

Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said negotiations should be held behind closed doors, not through the media.

"We're not at the ultimatum stage," Eisin said. "They agreed to work to go forward, and we are committed to going forward to a joint statement."

Jordan's king urges Israeli PM in phone call from China to help make peace conference a 'success'
Jordan's King Abdullah II urged Olmert on Tuesday to help make a U.S.-sponsored international peace conference a success, the official Jordanian Petra news agency reported.

Petra said Abdullah's comment was made during a phone call to Olmert from China, where the king is on a state visit marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations with the Asian nation.

The king telephoned Olmert to check on his health following his announcement the day before that he had prostate cancer, Petra said.

It said Abdullah urged Olmert to lay the ground for a suitable climate and to help make the international peace conference a success. He did not elaborate.


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      1.   So there you have it 14:44  |  Samuel Foster 30/10/07
      2.   Expel The Enemy From OUR Land 14:48  |  Yishai Kohen 30/10/07
      3.   timeline is reasonable 15:11  |  Axel 30/10/07
      4.   Ridiculous 15:19  |  CWW 30/10/07
      5.   The PA can hardly govern the town of Ramallah, so on what basis 15:19  |  Petra 30/10/07
      6.   Time line with steps to be taken by both sides 15:23  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 30/10/07
      7.   No talks 15:23  |  abraham habash 30/10/07
      8.   re:#2 Israel is better than that 15:29  |  CWW 30/10/07
      9.   Timetable 15:29  |  Johnny Weintraub 30/10/07
      10.   So, what`s Bush and Rice gonna do next? 15:39  |  Johnboy 30/10/07
      11.   No problem.. you don`t want talks... fine 15:41  |  Kobi 30/10/07
      12.   Timeline for a Palestinian state 15:53  |  JordanisPalestine 30/10/07
      13.   So, Yishai Kohen, just how many PEOPLE 16:03  |  spyguy 30/10/07
      14.   If they insist on a deadline... 16:10  |  David 30/10/07
      15.   #2 16:22  |  JordanisPalestine 30/10/07
      16.   There Is Nothing To Discusss: Israel Must Be Given An Ultimatum 16:37  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/10/07
      17.   Arabs always attack, whether Israel occupies or withdraws... 16:37  |  Elie 30/10/07
      18.   Fortunately Lieberman has said it`s a red line 16:39  |  redmike 30/10/07
      19.   TERRORISTS WANT NO STATE,NO OBLIGATIONS,THERE WILL BE NO PALESTAT 16:44  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 30/10/07
      20.   And who will run this state? Hamd or fatah? 17:00  |  Ben 30/10/07
      21.   Funny how those without power 17:07  |  Seeker 30/10/07
      22.   Nothing To Discuss w/ "Yaakov" and "SpyGuy" 17:19  |  Tex 30/10/07
      23.   #2 Keep lying to yourselves 17:37  |  Hani 30/10/07
      24.   Annapolis 17:45  |  Realist 30/10/07
      25.   Lack of Guts 17:46  |  JordanisPalestine 30/10/07
      26.   Pal demands? 17:49  |  ken 30/10/07
      27.   only reasonable 18:12  |  Axel 30/10/07
      28.   Master Yaakov`s points 18:32  |  Gil 30/10/07
      29.   How to kill the peace process 18:40  |  Dan Chazan 30/10/07
      30.   # 14 Jordan... 18:49  |  Axel 30/10/07
      31.   Israel is an embarrassment to its friends 19:18  |  Tim 30/10/07
      32.   THERE WILL NEVER BE A"PAL" STATE 19:34  |  LIONS OF JUDAH 30/10/07
      33.   another palestinian idiot 19:35  |  real vision 30/10/07
      34.   No Problem, this should be fine for Israel 19:47  |  Robert 30/10/07
      35.   #2 Lishai Kohen 20:14  |  Dave 30/10/07
      36.   in the meantime both sides are hurting 20:17  |  roberta 30/10/07
      37.   I wished that global clear plan with agenda will be set up 20:19  |  Mohammed Gasmi 30/10/07
      38.   No talks without timeline for Palestinian state 20:25  |  E 30/10/07
      39.   A time line for a pal state means that Israel 20:29  |  Joseph E . 30/10/07
      40.   Ahmed Quriea: which state is that; Gaza or the WB? 20:44  |  Alicia 30/10/07
      41.   Joseph E in Givatayim 20:56  |  Omar 30/10/07
      42.   #33 - Israel is hurting ? 21:01  |  redmike 30/10/07
      43.   My appologies for SpyGuy 21:11  |  Scharker Yid 30/10/07
      44.   The UN should 21:11  |  Chris Linthwaite 30/10/07
      45.   Reasonable stance 21:25  |  Chris Linthwaite 30/10/07
      46.   # 36 joseph e 21:28  |  Axel 30/10/07
      47.   Timeline 21:30  |  Matt Houston 30/10/07
      48.   jordanispalestine...... 21:30  |  maria 30/10/07
      49.   "Hickory, dickory, dock... 21:42  |  Blogowitz 30/10/07
      50.   #26 21:43  |  Realist 30/10/07
      51.   Very well stop negotiations and wait till Arab oil era is over 21:59  |  Genuine Tosefta 30/10/07
      52.   # 35 E 22:00  |  Axel 30/10/07
      53.   #16 Yaakov Sullivan 22:08  |  Labhras 30/10/07
      54.   PA calls Israel`s bluff 22:10  |  Bruce Gowdy 30/10/07
      55.   Joseph E in Givatayim 22:12  |  Omar 30/10/07
      56.   Abbas: Have the courage to cancel the talks! 22:25  |  Chaim 30/10/07
      57.   Five years of No Violence 22:25  |  Scharker Yid 30/10/07
      58.   To Yishai Kohen (#2), JordanIsPalestine (#12) 22:28  |  Morris Valentine 30/10/07
      59.   OK. 1 year after verified end to Arab terrorism in all its forms 22:28  |  Dr. L. Brnd 30/10/07
      60.   Morris Valentine #50 22:43  |  Gee 30/10/07
      61.   # 49 yid 22:46  |  Axel 30/10/07
      62.   So Go To Hell 22:52  |  Yoram 30/10/07
      63.   Israel wants a vague statement? 22:56  |  Natallie Durson 30/10/07
      64.   # 57 gee 23:02  |  Axel 30/10/07
      65.   To Gee (#55) 23:05  |  Morris Valentine 30/10/07
      66.   Margie 23:08  |  Guido 30/10/07
      67.   Proposed timeline 23:28  |  Tosefta 30/10/07
      68.   22 arab states now exists for arabs 23:34  |  sam 30/10/07
      69.   PAL.duplicity.CURRENTLY on Fatah TV Elimination Of Israel 23:35  |  PETER S .M. 30/10/07
      70.   Want a time line; Quiera hold your breath til a state is born. 23:44  |  Reuven 30/10/07
      71.   #16, Yaakov Sullivan... 00:15  |  Silvienne 31/10/07
      72.   Guido 00:33  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 31/10/07
      73.   No peace in our time 01:31  |  Voice of Reason 31/10/07
      74.   To all you "pro pal state" people 01:53  |  Steve 31/10/07
      75.   CH2O, The State of Formaldehyde 01:53  |  kevin 31/10/07
      76.   Peter S.M and videos 02:21  |  Truths 31/10/07
      77.   No. 59 Dr. Blood 02:35  |  Steve 31/10/07
      78.   Morris Valentine 02:42  |  Dakkar 31/10/07
      79.   Yaacov Sullivan talking rubbish 02:57  |  Dakkar 31/10/07