Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met today to see if they can narrow differences over Palestinian statehood.
Israeli and Palestinian officials said the talks, held at Mr Olmert's Jerusalem residence, would seek to lay the groundwork for next week's planned visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Washington is pushing a reluctant Israel to make progress to avoid disappointment at the conference, which Western diplomats said could culminate with the relaunching of long-stalled peace talks.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
"I am hopeful," Mr Abbas said, "but I don't know what are the obstacles - and we have many of the obstacles - which will face us. We hope that we can overcome all kinds of obstacles."
The two leaders have been meeting regularly since Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip in June.
The bilateral meetings and the conference are part of a US-led campaign to shore up the Fatah leader's hold on power in the occupied West Bank and to isolate Hamas in Gaza.
It is unclear how any agreements reached between the leaders can be put in place so long as the territories remain divided.
Mr Olmert also has been weakened politically since last year's war in Lebanon, raising doubts among Israelis and Palestinians over his ability to deliver on any peace promises.
Mr Olmert is seeking a broad "declaration of principles" in time for the November conference, whereas Mr Abbas wants a more explicit "framework" agreement with a timeline for the core issues of borders, Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
Palestinian officials said some progress had been made in recent meetings to narrow the gaps over the nature of a future Palestinian state but that the sides have not yet reached the point of drafting principles.