Qureia: Detailed agreement needed before US meet

Israel and the Palestinians must come up with a detailed agreement on the most divisive issues between them ahead of a US-sponsored peace conference, the lead Palestinian negotiator said Saturday.

But Ahmed Qureia emphasized that negotiating teams that began work last week have not forged a written agreement on any of these issues — final borders, the status of disputed Jerusalem and a solution for Palestinians who lost their homes during the war that followed Israel's 1948 creation.

The document that is to be presented at the conference "should be a detailed, clearcut document on the final status issues," Qureia said after meeting with US diplomat David Welch.

The meeting is expected to take place in Annapolis, Maryland, at the end of November. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to arrive in the region on Sunday to try to help Israel and the Palestinians narrow gaps ahead of the conference.

Meanwhile Saturday, Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) called on the organizers of the peace conference to drop the diplomatic issues off the agenda.

"If we must take part in the Annapolis conference, it should be turned into an economic conference," Yishai said in response to Queria's earlier remarks.

"If we take a break from the diplomatic issues, we will be able to dedicate the conference to an economic rehabilitation of the Palestinian Authority, focusing on labor. We could return to negotiations in the future. Only one-third of the Palestinians will take part in negotiation today," Yishai added.