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JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have held their first formal meeting in a bid to revive peace talks and end years of conflict between the two sides.
"This is the beginning of a series of meetings. It was a good meeting. There was agreement on several issues," Nabil Abu Rdainah, an aide to Abbas, said after the two-hour talks in Jerusalem on Saturday local time.
Peace negotiations collapsed in 2000, and a Palestinian uprising erupted soon after.
Hopes of reviving them appeared all but dead when Hamas Islamists took power in Gaza and the West Bank in March.
Olmert and Abbas smiled as they exchanged handshakes and kisses on the cheek at the start of their talks at the Israeli leader's residence in Jerusalem.
Abbas and Olmert met informally on the sidelines of a conference in Jordan earlier this year, but the Palestinian president's last formal meeting with an Israeli prime minister was in February 2005 when Ariel Sharon held the post.
Olmert replaced Sharon as prime minister in January after Sharon suffered a massive stroke.
Israel has been under pressure from the United States and the European Union to take steps to support the moderate Abbas since he called for early Palestinian elections, a move that Hamas has rejected as a "coup" and unconstitutional.
Olmert and Abbas were expected to release statements after the talks, which officials had worked for months to prepare. News of the meeting was announced only hours before it began.
A top priority for Abbas is to secure commitments from Olmert for the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Israel has said it would be willing to release prisoners, but only if Gaza militants free Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured in a cross-border raid in June.
His kidnapping prompted Israel to launch a months-long offensive in Gaza that largely ended with a shaky truce in late November.
Abbas was also expected to press Israel to release Palestinian tax revenues. Western diplomats said Olmert's office had been considering a partial transfer of funds to Abbas' office but Israeli officials said no decision has been made.
It remains to be seen whether Israeli gestures will be substantial enough to boost Abbas, who wants a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas seeks Israel's destruction.
Olmert had said Abbas should not expect major concessions from Israel until Shalit was released.
The moderate Palestinian leader's decision to call elections has ratcheted up tensions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank between his forces and those loyal to Hamas. At least 10 people have been killed in internal fighting in the past week.
Abbas called for fresh elections after months of talks between his Fatah movement and Hamas on forming a national unity government failed. Palestinians had hoped such an administration would prompt the resumption of direct foreign aid.
Israel and the West cut off direct aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas beat the once dominant Fatah in January elections.
The sanctions were imposed because of Hamas' refusal to recognise Israel and renounce violence.
Israel says it is withholding nearly US$500 million ($727.90 million) in Palestinian tax revenues - money that would normally be used by the Palestinian Authority to pay government workers, who have not received full wages since March.
- REUTERS
