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J'lem source: Rice seeks Israel, PA memo this week By Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff Israel and the Palestinian Authority are both unhappy over a request by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that they publish a memorandum of understanding on the progress of their final-status negotiations to date before U.S. President George Bush arrives on a visit next week. According to a government source, Rice wants such a document to make it clear to the international community that the negotiations are indeed progressing. Advertisement Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas held another meeting yesterday, following which the government source said "there has been great progress on the issue of the borders of the Palestinian state." He said there had also been considerable progress on the issue of security arrangements. But Rice told Israeli officials during her recent visit to the region that even though both sides had reported progress, "the world doesn't believe it." The fact that no concrete document has yet emerged from the negotiations, combined with the lack of dramatic progress in improving the daily lives of Palestinian residents of the West Bank, encourages disbelief, she argued, and this is liable to undermine the process. She therefore suggested formulating a memorandum of understanding that would outline the general principles to which the parties have agreed - mainly on the issue of borders, but also on the other core issues. Both sides express reservations However, both the Israeli and Palestinian officials with whom she met expressed reservations about the idea. "The work of drafting such a document will merely halt the progress and the momentum," argued one Israeli official. "Instead of negotiating, we will start dealing with commas and periods in the draft and try to steal corners from each other," added another. Both Israel and the PA say the talks have made significant progress, but both would prefer to keep this progress under the media's radar for now. The main progress has been on the issue of borders - the fate of the settlement blocs, territorial exchanges and the "safe passage" between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Jerusalem has not yet been seriously discussed, and on the refugees, both sides have merely presented their initial - and highly divergent - stances. Palestinian sources said that during her recent visit, Rice pressed both parties to finalize an agreement on borders quickly, as that is the issue which all sides view as easiest to resolve. According to these sources, Israel initially expressed a willingness to cede 90 percent of the West Bank to the Palestinians, while the PA demanded at least 98 percent. In particular, Israel wants to retain the major settlement blocs and the Jordan Valley, but the PA rejects these demands. Though some progress has been made, the Palestinian sources said they saw no chance of resolving these disputes in the 10 days remaining before Bush's visit. Israeli officials who met with Rice said their impression is that she is determined to produce an achievement at almost any price, given the political capital that both she and Bush have invested in the Palestinian issue over the last year. During her visit, Rice also expressed grave concern over the latest police investigation against Olmert, fearing that it would negatively affect the negotiations. Even if the case is ultimately closed, Israeli officials said, Rice fears that it could hinder Olmert's ability to more forward with the talks. At yesterday's meeting with Abbas, Olmert also promised to keep him informed of the progress of Israel's indirect negotiations with Hamas over a cease-fire in Gaza. The Egyptian intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, is due to come here next week to present the agreement Egypt has reached with the Palestinian factions and seek Israel's approval. Afterward, the cabinet will apparently hold a special meeting on the subject. Yuval Azoulay adds: Israel transferred 200 liters of diesel fuel and 30,000 liters of gasoline to the UN Relief and Works Agency yesterday for its work in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli officials, this is enough for about a month. UNRWA has been complaining for days that it lacks fuel for its operations, but Israel said it could not transfer more fuel until Hamas emptied the depot to which the fuel is delivered and thereby created space for new deliveries - which it finally did yesterday. Hamas had refused to empty the depot for days, Israeli officials charged, thereby creating an artificial shortage. However, the fuel transfer was interrupted after a few hours by Palestinian mortar fire on the depot. Also yesterday, Israel imposed a complete closure on the territories, which will remain in force through Memorial and Independence Days (Wednesday and Thursday). Bookmark to del.icio.us   Raining on the parade World Likud chief calls for cancellation of Nakba Day procession. Perfect match TA court sentences 'DNA Rapist' to 25 years in prison.

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