Israel, Palestinians Disagree on Agenda

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, of Hamas delivers his speech to the Palestinian people at his office in Gaza City, Monday, Feb. 12, 2007. Haniyeh returned to Gaza on Monday and said his government planned to resign in the coming days to start the process of forming the new coalition. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) (Adel Hana - AP)

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Palestinian and Israeli officials disagreed sharply Tuesday over whether next week's Mideast summit with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should help relaunch peace talks, dimming hopes the session will produce results.

Israel will not talk about issues of substance until it learns more about the power-sharing deal reached last week between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamic militant Hamas, said government spokeswoman Miri Eisin.

Israel's prime minister, defense minister and foreign minister met Tuesday evening to discuss the summit, Army Radio reported, but no decisions were announced.

The agreement falls short of international demands that a new Palestinian government, a coalition of Hamas and Abbas' Fatah movement, explicitly recognize Israel's right to exist.

Abbas has been trying to market the vaguely worded deal as the only way to co-opt Hamas, end deadly Palestinian infighting, and renew peace talks with Israel.

International reaction also has been vague, and the summit would be the clearest test yet of the Israeli and U.S. positions.

Nabil Amr, a senior Abbas aide who took part in the negotiations, said the agenda dispute with Israel does not bode well for winning international acceptance of the agreement.

"I think we will face a tough situation to convince Israel" to deal with a future Hamas-Fatah coalition, Amr said. "But what can we do? This is what we achieved in Mecca."

Amr said he had few expectations for the Feb. 19 summit in Jerusalem with Abbas, Rice and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Eisin said the time is not ripe for full-fledged peace talks.

"We're not talking about the substantial issues, we're just talking about the political horizon," Eisin said. But she said Israel expects any future Palestinian government to accept the international conditions.

"We're waiting to see when the new Palestinian government is put together, because it hasn't been finalized, what the new government policies are," she said.