Palestinians see rifts with Israel on peace draft

By Wafa Amr

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are deeply divided over the content of a joint document they are drafting for next month's U.S.-sponsored statehood conference, Palestinian officials said on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, both weakened by internal crises, have avoided formal discussion of agenda issues in a series of pre-conference summits. They appointed top aides to find common ground instead.

The teams, which were introduced last week, are expected to begin negotiations on Monday but their opening positions diverge dramatically, reflecting disputes between Olmert and Abbas on how to revive moribund peace talks, Palestinian officials said.

"We can say, ahead of the real discussions beginning between the negotiators, that there is no agreement on any issue yet," chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurie told Reuters.

A senior Abbas adviser involved in the talks said that the Palestinian president and Olmert "each gave his team different instructions about what type of document to work on".

The Palestinians want the joint document to address future borders and the fate of millions of their refugees and of Jerusalem -- "final-status" issues that Israel has long evaded, demanding the Palestinians first provide security guarantees.

But the sides have agreed that formal talks on Palestinian statehood will not begin until after the conference, which is expected in mid to late November in the Washington area. Until then, Israel wants to avoid a detailed discussion.

"The joint statement will address core issues. In a general way, it will show the points of accord that we hope will be the basis of negotiations in the future," Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin said.