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Occupied Jerusalem: In what appears to be a direct rebuffal to both US President George Bush and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel on Tuesday said that it was not prepared to discuss the three central problems concerning its long standing struggle with Palestine.
"Israel has openly stated that we're willing to talk about issues of 'political horizon' and about how to achieve the vision of two states for two peoples," said Miri Eisin, spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
"But we have been very clear that we are not willing to discuss at this stage the three core issues of borders, refugees and Jerusalem," she added.
Meanwhile Bush and Abbas have shown willingness for final status talks to begin.
Bush said on Monday that "with the proper foundation we can soon begin serious negotiations toward the creation of a Palestinian state", singling out talks on borders as a near-term priority.
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