ISRAEL:Israel said yesterday it would not enter into negotiations on the "core issues" of borders, refugees and Jerusalem with the Palestinians, a day after President Bush called for a regional summit aimed at jump-starting peace talks.
"Israel has openly stated that we're willing to talk about issues of 'political horizon' and about how to achieve the vision of two states for two peoples," said Miri Eisen, spokeswoman for prime minister Ehud Olmert.
"But we have been very clear that we are not willing to discuss at this stage the three core issues of borders, refugees and Jerusalem," she added.
President Bush said on Monday that with the "proper foundation" in place, "we can soon begin serious negotiations toward the creation of a Palestinian state." Ms Eisen said that the way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was "a two-state solution, not one state, or Israel ruling over them [the Palestinians]", but insisted that as long as Palestinian violence continued, it was not possible to talk about far-reaching peace negotiations.
Israel has implemented several measures in recent weeks aimed at boosting Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, including the release of millions of dollars in customs duties it collects on behalf of the Palestinians and which it froze after Hamas acceded to power in early 2006.
In another move, ministers yesterday gave the green light to the release of some 250 members of Mr Abbas's Fatah party who are imprisoned in Israeli jails.
But the Palestinian leader wants Mr Olmert to go beyond confidence-building gestures and to begin discussing the key issues at the heart of the conflict.
"The best thing to do is focus on substance at this meeting," said Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Mr Abbas, referring to the regional summit Mr Bush is planning.
"We need this conference to focus on implementation, the transformation of words to deeds. That's what will restore credibility to the peace process."
Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip last month and is at loggerheads with the more moderate Fatah, lambasted the summit idea.
"We condemn this American conference which aims to serve the interests of the Zionist enemy," said Ismail Radwan, a spokesman for the movement.
In his speech, President Bush accepted Mr Abbas's demand that the sides move to talks about a final-status agreement and skip the interim stage included in the road-map peace plan that calls for the creation of a Palestinian state in temporary borders.
However, Mr Olmert - who opposes any talks on substantive issues - has little cause for concern. President Bush also made it clear that the Palestinian Authority needed to root out "the terrorists" before there could be real progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state.