ISRAEL: Israel and the Palestinians postponed their first summit meeting since the Gaza pull-out after preparatory talks failed yesterday to find a basis for its success.
Differences remained over Palestinian calls for Israel to release long-serving Palestinian prisoners and pull troops away from West Bank cities, moves that could bolster moderate President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of a January parliamentary poll.
Mr Abbas and Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon had been due to meet today, a month after Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. A Palestinian presidential spokesman said the meeting could take place at the end of the month or at the beginning of next month.
Mr Abbas is due to meet President Bush at the White House on October 20th to discuss the "road map" stalled by violence.
Israeli troops shot dead three Palestinians near the Gaza frontier whom the army said were spotted crawling near the border fence and ignored calls to halt.
A Palestinian security official said they were unarmed and had intended to sneak into Israel to find work.