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JERUSALEM - Israel and the Palestinians received long-awaited invitations to attend a Mideast peace conference in the United States next week, after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said peace with the Palestinians was possible as early as next year.
The US delayed issuing invitations to Arab countries, reflecting their scepticism about the usefulness of the gathering, since the Israelis and Palestinians are so far apart in their stands.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that the process was "one of partition", with Israel giving up territory, while trying to "maintain control of large settlement blocs" in the West Bank.
Olmert pledged to follow the peace conference in Annapolis with serious negotiations on all the outstanding issues.
- AP
