A top Palestinian negotiator said the Israelis and Palestinians were close to a joint declaration on the aims of this week’s peace summit.
Yasser Abed Rabbo spoke Monday to reporters in Washington just before the launch of the U.S.-convened Israeli-Palestinian talks in Annapolis, Md.
“We are working on the final declaration, and I think either today or tomorrow we will have positive results,” he said. “The Americans are playing a role in order to narrow the gap and to help finalize the document.”
Abed Rabbo said his hope was that the process would end up in a peace agreement before the end of 2008.
Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert played down the importance of such a document.
“We will be very happy if there is a document, but the substance of Annapolis is that it is taking place,” Olmert said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.