ISRAEL: There is little optimism ahead of a meeting tonight between Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, with both sides yesterday setting out conditions they said had to be met if a new Mid-East peace plan was to be implemented.
The run-up to the meeting - the highest-level talks since violence erupted 32 months ago - has seen the resignation of Mr Saeb Erekat, a veteran Palestinian negotiator and the minister with responsibility for peace talks.
Mr Erekat did not explain publicly why he had resigned, but there were suggestions it might be over the decision by Mr Abbas not to include Mr Erekat, a loyalist of Palestinian President Mr Yasser Arafat, in the team to meet Mr Sharon.
The Palestinians want Israel to formally accept the "road map" peace plan, and this demand will be on the agenda at the talks tonight.
The speaker of the Palestinian legislative council, Mr Ahmed Qureia, who will be part of Mr Abbas's team, said the Palestinians would ask for "a clear and frank answer regarding the road map".
They are unlikely to get one. Mr Sharon, who met with top advisers yesterday to prepare for the meeting, has submitted to the Americans up to 15 reservations regarding the blueprint, and will discuss them only when he meets President Bush in Washington next Tuesday.
Israeli Foreign Minister Mr Silvan Shalom, who was in London yesterday discussing the peace plan with Prime Minister Tony Blair, sounded a tough line, saying his government was unlikely to accept the road map if it was not amended to take into account Israeli concerns.
Israeli Justice Minister Mr Yosef Lapid, who will be at the talks tonight, said the Israeli government was waiting to see what Mr Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) "is going to do, especially in terms of the war on terror.
"In the meantime, when we're being shelled from Gaza, I'm not sure that it's the right time to make gestures to the Palestinians."
Mr Lapid was referring to the firing of rudimentary rockets from Gaza into towns in southern Israel.
The Israeli army raided Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza on Thursday - the town was still being occupied yesterday - in a bid to prevent the firing of these rockets. Five Palestinians were killed in the course of the incursion.
Such actions, said Mr Qureia, did not infuse him with optimism ahead of tonight's meeting.
"There can be no talk about the road map or peace process while this aggression against the Palestinian people continues," he said.