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Occupied Jerusalem: Top Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, under US pressure to start peace talks, met on Monday on a plan to begin tackling some of the thorniest issues after a month-long impasse over Jewish colonies.
Both sides said they hoped to announce agreement on how they will conduct so-called final status negotiations - over borders, and the fate of occupied Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees - before US President George W. Bush visits Israel and the occupied West Bank starting on Tuesday.
The talks in occupied Jerusalem between Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qorei will be followed up today when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meet.
Olmert and Abbas, at a US-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland in November, set the goal of trying to negotiate a statehood agreement before Bush leaves office in January 2009. But it is unclear how that can be accomplished with weakened leaders on all sides.
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