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Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Archives) del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 13:45 19/11/2007 PM, Mubarak to meet in Sharm al-Sheikh Tuesday for surprise talks By Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents Tags: Annapolis, Mahmoud Abbas  Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak are expected to meet Tuesday for a surprise summit in the southern Sinai Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh. The purpose of the meeting is to "coordinate expectations" ahead of the Annapolis summit, officials said. It will also serve as part of a diplomatic effort to ensure broad Arab participation in the Annapolis conference. Arab League foreign ministers meet in Cairo on Friday to decide whether to attend the meeting. A senior government source said that Olmert would ask Mubarak to use his influence to persuade as many Arab states as possible to take part in the Annapolis summit, and at the highest possible levels, in order to show their support for the talks. Advertisement On Thursday, Arab League foreign ministers are to meet in Cairo to discuss participation in the Annapolis gathering. The sources said the Olmert-Mubarak talks were agreed upon during a Sunday meeting in Cairo between Olmert aides and Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, which is seen as "highly likely" to take place on Tuesday. Scheduling conflicts may delay the meeting until Wednesday, however. Olmert told cabinet ministers on Monday that the significance of the Annapolis summit must not be exaggerated nor ignored. The cabinet met for a special session to discuss the conference and to give ministers the opportunity to voice concerns about the talks with the Palestinians. "The Annapolis summit is not intended for negotiations but for a support meeting to put the process into motion," Olmert told ministers. "I do not recommend that anyone overstate its importance and create exaggerated expectations but one certainly cannot understate the importance of the fact that the U.S. President and, with him, the leaders of the most important countries in the world, are convening a meeting of such broad international stature in order to support the direct negotiations between us and the Palestinians," he said. The cabinet on Monday alsoapproved the release of 441 Palestinian prisoners, most of them members of Fatah, a gesture of goodwill for Abbas on the eve of the summit. Israeli and Palestinian sources have suggested the Annapolis peace summit could end without a joint declaration, as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas prepare to meet Monday in an effort to achieve a breakthrough in the drafting of the document. In the Palestinian camp, meanwhile, there is an increasingly acrimonious discussion over the way negotiations with Israel and the United States are being conducted. Olmert and Abbas will meet Monday in Jerusalem to discuss ways of moving forward on the issue of the joint declaration. The chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, Ahmed Qureia, said on Monday he would hold no more talks with his Israeli counterpart, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, after a meeting over the weekend failed to make progress on the document. "The negotiations have come to an end without achieving the results we have been seeking," Qureia said. A senior government official said Sunday that "we have summarized all the points so that the leaders will be able to cut through and decide what will be in and what will not, forming an idea of what the joint declaration will look like." One of the main issues still in contention is the establishment of a tripartite committee, comprising Israeli, Palestinian and American officials, who are to monitor the implementation of the first stage of the road map. Another issue in dispute is Abbas' request for a firm timetable for completion of negotiations and implementation of the agreements. A senior Israeli official said Sunday that "a situation is certainly possible by which there will be no joint declaration and we will have to make do with two separate statements that will be combined in the speeches of the two leaders." Livni: No crisis in talks Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who has headed the Israeli negotiating team in the pre-summit talks, said Sunday that the meetings between the two sides are continuing and that there was no crisis. "Even if it is not simple, I believe that in the coming days we will place the process on the right tracks and we will be off," she said. This morning the cabinet will meet for a special session to discuss the upcoming summit. The meeting will begin with a briefing by the prime minister, after which the ministers will voice their views. The ministers of coalition partners Shas and Yisrael Beitenu, as well as some from Olmert's own Kadima party, such as Shaul Mofaz, are expected to express their reservations about the talks with the Palestinians. Meanwhile, there is an atmosphere of bitterness in the Palestinian camp on the eve of the Maryland summit, with complaints being voiced at the way the negotiations are being handled. A source involved in the talks claimed that the Annapolis summit has become a complete travesty, and said that there is no point for the Palestinians to go. "The only reason that the PA is going to Annapolis, and is not announcing the cancellation of its participation, is that it fears it will be seen in the world as opposed to peace, like it was regarded following the Camp David summit," in 2000. Talks 'lack substance' The same source alleged that the talks between Olmert and Abbas lacked any substance and that "they met seven times and reached no agreement. When the two negotiating teams tried to draft the agreement on issues that the two leaders had supposedly reached, they discovered that there were no agreements." The Palestinian source said that there is a high likelihood that the conference will be concluded without a joint declaration. "Two persons on the Palestinian negotiating team have convinced the Americans that everything will be fine if there is no joint statement. This was not the initial position of the United States." Hamas was also critical of the Palestinian march to the summit Sunday, with Mussa Abu Marzuk, spokesman for the Hamas political bureau saying that the organization considers resistance to be the only way to deal with Israel. Related articles: FM Livni's remark on Palestinian state angers Arab MKs PM Olmert's speech at Memorial Ceremony in Honor of David Ben-Gurion Arab powerhouses to decide Friday on attending regional peace meet Annapolis joint declaration to focus on goals of final status talks Peace Index: October 2007 / Unenthused by Annapolis Bookmark to del.icio.us Not quite Balfour Arab-Israeli Balad party to vote on whether to accept Israel as a Jewish state. Jews saving the world A documentary examines Judaism's connection to vegetarianism and activism.   1.   Waste of time and money 03:31  |  Jon 19/11/07   2.   So What? 04:10  |  Mark Lincoln 19/11/07   3.   THERE WILL BE NO PALESTINIAN STATE! ANNAPOLIS IS A HANNUKA SHOW)) 04:17  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 19/11/07   4.   Annapolis is just launching the process of diplomatic negotations 06:25  |  Smadar 19/11/07   5.   Israel must get out of palestine "END OF STORY" 06:48  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 19/11/07   6.   If the reason for the lack of joint declaration is the Pallies`.. 07:18  |  Geulah 19/11/07   7.   Interesting but sad 07:34  |  Danite 19/11/07   8.   The Philistines Are Running Like Lemmings Towards The Abyss 08:14  |  Yishai Kohen 19/11/07   9.   The most honest peace conference in history? 08:52  |  Natallie Durson 19/11/07   10.   Annapolis = opportunity for arabs to repeat arab brainwash 09:29  |  Joseph E . 19/11/07   11.   Yet another embarrassment to Mr. Bush 09:33  |  adel 19/11/07   12.   The only reason arabised leftists attend Annapolis 09:34  |  Joseph E . 19/11/07   13.   In that case Olmert may as well stay in USA 09:36  |  Dangor 19/11/07   14.   As a citizen of the world I call here and now upon 09:41  |  Roger 19/11/07   15.   Annapolis = US Dep`t process for arab control of palestine region 10:11  |  Joseph E . 19/11/07   16.   SINCE EGYPT VIOLATES CAMP DAVID ACCORDS, SINAI MUST BE RETURNED)) 10:37  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 19/11/07   17.   Peace with Olmert is like 11:00  |  S 19/11/07   18.   in 500 years 13:33  |  Allen 19/11/07   19.   They have much to talk about prostates 15:42  |  Jonathan S 19/11/07   20.   Put Gilad Shalit`s release on top of the agenda 18:59  |  Fortuna Benmayor 19/11/07   21.   Meetings 19:31  |  Observer 20/11/07

Today Online Burston: Dying of occupation - a case of cancer and the right Responses: 130 Israeli civilian killed in West Bank shooting attack Responses: 173 Israel's Conservative movement threatens to sue ex-chief rabbi Responses: 101 Settlers: Palestinians vandalizing Jewish farmers' property Responses: 86 Rosner: Fewer Americans think Israel ready to make peace Responses: 42 Rosner's Domain More Americans ready to abandon Israel if support means more terror Guest: America's universities are failing a generation of students The Democrats are struggling with Iran (WTR) Poll: Should Israel "get used" to the Iranian bomb? More Headlines 20:01 U.S. formally invites Israel, PA to Annapolis peace conference 20:09 Olmert, Mubarak agree to step up cooperation to prevent arms smuggling 19:00 Mourners of at terror victim's funeral block entrance to Palestinian village 18:03 IDF chief says doesn't expect new intifada in wake of summit 10:58 Israel's Conservative movement threatens to sue ex-chief rabbi 17:55 Report: Russia to provide Egypt with nuclear expertise 18:17 Dozens injured as passenger bus crashes into truck near Acre 15:49 Engineer convicted for Versailles hall disaster appeals sentence 15:03 Poll: Palestinians back peace bid, but don't expect progress Previous Editions Select Day 19 nov 18 nov 16 nov 15 nov 14 nov 13 nov 12 nov 11 nov 09 nov 08 nov 07 nov 06 nov

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