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Jericho - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank for the first time yesterday and told him he hoped to restart negotiations soon on establishing a Palestinian state.
Olmert agreed to expand the scope of discussions to include "fundamental issues" that were key to ending the conflict, United States and Palestinian officials said.
"I came here in order to discuss with you the fundamental issues outstanding between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, hoping that this will lead us soon into negotiations about the creation of a Palestinian state," Olmert said, with Abbas standing at his side, at the start of their talks in Jericho.
"I want to do this sooner rather than later," a spokesman for Olmert, speaking after the end of the three-hour session, quoted the Israeli leader as telling Abbas about Palestinian statehood.
The meeting was held ahead of a US-sponsored conference expected in November and marked the first visit by an Israeli prime minister to a West Bank city since 2000.
Abbas asked the Israeli leader to release more Palestinian prisoners, Olmert spokesman David Baker said. Israel has freed more than 250 in recent weeks, and Baker said Olmert would consider the request.
It is unclear whether Olmert, whose popularity plummeted after last year's inconclusive war in Lebanon, can make major concessions.
It is also uncertain how Abbas can deliver on any deal while Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction, is in control of Gaza.
- Reuters
