Palestinian President Abbas agreed with Israeli PM Olmert on the framework of the final status negotiations in relation to the core issues. This meeting came on the eve of the visit of President Bush to the region. Saeb Erekat said: we agreed that the responsibility for negotiations on the issues of Jerusalem, borders, the refugees, the settlements, the water, security and relations and the prisoners would be for the Guidance and Steering Committee headed by Ahmad Qurei' and Livni and that this committee would start work immediately, and the meetings between President Abbas and PM Olmert would continue to discuss the final status issues and to receive reports from Qurei' and Livni and follow up issues and daily developments. President Abbas made a strong protest against the recent statements of Israeli Defense Minister Barak on rejecting to remove the checkpoints in the West Bank. He explained that these checkpoints impede our life and obstruct our work to build our institutions and harms our economy and they must be removed. Erekat said Olmert didn’t give a clear answer on the protests of President Abbas. Erekat said President Abbas will ask President Bush tomorrow to revive the trilateral committee that supervises the implementation of the items in the roadmap.

A Palestinian senior source said yesterday evening that there is progress on the issue of the settlements but there are some obstacles regarding the borders, the refugees and settlements in occupied East Jerusalem where Israeli circles believe that these are part of the state of Israel after annexing it through an unfair Israeli decision in 1969. the source explained that there is worry and concern that the Israeli moves today are an attempt to appease President Bush at the end of his term and during his tour in the Arab countries but as soon as he leaves, the Israeli side will return to the old hard-line and intransigent positions. The source affirmed that the United States refused in the past to exert pressure on Israel and this administration will not exert any pressure at the end of its term. There are indicators pushing towards uncertainty regarding the establishment of the Palestinian state before the end of Bush's term because the issues are complex and they require an Israeli strong political will and this is not available.

Published at Al Quds NewsPaper on January 9, 2008