U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright expects negotiations on a further Israeli redeployment in the West Bank to conclude by the end of the month and is urging Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai to meet with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat’s deputy, Mahmoud Abbas. But the defense minister said in a statement that he would meet with Abbas only if Mordechai is given the authority by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement for breaking the 16-month deadlock in negotiations. Palestinian officials, meanwhile, said they would agree to the meeting only if Israel accepts a U.S. plan for a 13 percent redeployment.
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