Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)
Over the last three months, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas have met with striking frequency for substantive bilateral talks in preparation of the upcoming Annapolis peace conference. These meetings have reportedly tackled the tough core issues facing Israelis and Palestinians, while resulting in a strong working relationship between the two leaders.
Date: August 6
Location: Jericho
The three-hour Jericho meeting was the first since the announcement of the international peace conference. It also marked the first time an Israeli Prime Minister had visited the West Bank in seven years. The Jericho talks were said to focus on fundamental issues surrounding Palestinian statehood.
Date: August 28
Location: Jerusalem
In their second round of talks, Olmert and Abbas discussed the status of Jerusalem, possible borders of a future Palestinian state, and the Philadelphi route, which runs along the border between Gaza and Egypt. The leaders agreed to set up professional teams to draft a joint declaration of principles to present at the international conference in the fall. They also called for a meeting between the United States, PA, Israel, and Egypt to address the problem of weapons smuggling.
Date: September 10
Location: Jerusalem
Abbas and Olmert set up eight ministerial committees to address mutual concerns like security, communications, and economic cooperation. Olmert said that the Israeli Defense Ministry was preparing a plan to reduce fixed checkpoints in the West Bank, and promised to register 5,000 Palestinians living in the territories, giving them legal status and travel rights.
Date: October 3
Location: Jerusalem
For their fourth meeting, the two leaders gathered in Prime Minister Olmert’s sukkah (built for the Jewish Sukkot holiday), along with their negotiating teams, which were meeting for the first time. The teams were instructed to begin drafting the joint declaration the following week. It was unclear at the time whether the document would be a vague statement, as preferred by Olmert, or the explicit framework advocated by Abbas.
Date: October 26
Location: Jerusalem
The latest meeting between Olmert and Abbas came shortly after Israel declared its intention to cut power to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to stop Qassam rocket fire into Israel. In the meeting, Olmert reportedly assured Abbas that the powercuts would not cause a humanitarian crisis.
Latest Summit Developments
Olmert announced during a press conference on November 6 that the Annapolis conference will likely take place during the last week of November. Both Olmert and Abbas have now said they see the conference as a launch pad for final status negotiations and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Secretary of State and Condoleezza Rice and Prime Minister Olmert have also both expressed firm interest in Syria’s participation in the summit. Syria has canceled plans to hold a parallel anti-Fatah summit in Damascus.