Palestinian leader to discuss roadblock removal

ISRAEL: Israeli and Palestinian leaders will resume their regular meetings on Monday with talks to review progress in U.S.-backed efforts to work out a peace deal by year's end, a Palestinian negotiator said Saturday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had called off his meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the beginning of March in response to an Israeli anti-rocket raid on the Gaza Strip that killed 120 people, dozens of them civilians. The leaders had committed to meet every two weeks, but last met Feb. 19.

Abbas and Olmert will talk in the meeting about how much each side has done to meet its peace obligations, negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

An Israeli official said he expected the leaders to meet at the beginning of the week. He said Olmert had wanted to resume the talks earlier, but Abbas had refused. He spoke on condition of anonymity since Olmert's office had not yet issued an official statement.

Under a U.S.-backed peace plan, Israel must remove illegal settlement outposts and ease travel restrictions, while the Palestinians must rein in militants.

Erekat says the two leaders will also talk about the closure of Hamas-run Gaza and Egypt's efforts to arrange a truce on the Gaza-Israel border.

Jerusalem, Sunday, AP