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U.S., Israel Downplay Peace Talk

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By STEVEN ERLANGER, The New York Times

Published: November 12, 2007

JERUSALEM - The American-sponsored Middle East peace conference expected by the end of the month looks to be thin on content, mostly serving as a stage to begin formal negotiations on a peace treaty between Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israeli and American officials have been so busy dampening expectations they are no longer calling the event a conference, instead referring to it merely as a "meeting."

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are having trouble agreeing on even a short declaration about the shape of a final peace. Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have a rough understanding on where they are heading, officials of both sides say, but they are afraid to write it or say it publicly, given the political cost of any concessions.

Before the meeting, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 25-27 in Annapolis, Md., Israeli coalition members are warning Olmert not to go too far or get too specific. And Palestinian negotiators are squabbling among themselves, getting little firm direction from Abbas.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may return to Israel before the conference to push for a more substantive agreement.

If any document coming out of the conference remains vague, Annapolis will be used to mark another effort to carry out the first stage of the moribund 2003 "road map" for peace. That first stage calls for simultaneous efforts by the Palestinians to build state institutions and fight terrorism, while Israel halts the growth in West Bank settlements, considered illegal by much of the world, and removes settler outposts that are illegal under Israeli law.

Ahmed Qurei, chief Palestinian negotiator, said: "What we need for a successful meeting in Annapolis is to implement the first phase of the road map. We have suspicions of each other over seven years, so need to build trust."

Both sides are still struggling with compromises on core issues of final borders, status of Palestinian refugees and Jerusalem. Although negotiators have agreed to leave the Jerusalem issue alone for now, they have fundamental disagreements on how to couch other issues.

Even if a deal is reached, it will not be carried out for years. Israel wants to be sure that if it withdraws from the West Bank, there is a reliable Palestinian security force to stop aggression and terrorism to ensure a Hamas-run Gaza that fires rockets at Israel is not replicated in the West Bank.

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