(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-28 15:44

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (R), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (2nd R), chief Palestinian negotiator and former prime minister Ahmed Qurie (2nd L), and Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (L) stand together during their meeting in Jerusalem Dec. 27, 2007. [Xinhua]

Hours before Thursday's summit, a spokesman for Abbas had said that President Abbas would ask Olmert to freeze settlement activities in the Palestinian lands.

"The president will be very clear: the building of settlements must stop first," Nabil Abu Redina told Voice of Palestine radio.

"The negotiations must be serious with a real launching and without procedures blocking them," said the spokesman.

Thursday's summit was also attended by the negotiating teams from both sides, which were headed by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qurei respectively.

The negotiating teams concluded their second round of peace talks on Monday without yielding any result or progress as the two sides persisted in their own concerns. The Palestinians insisted that Israel should stop settlement expansion, while Israelis demanded an improved security mechanism from the Palestinian side.

Abbas and Olmert have been meeting regularly since June when Hamas took over Gaza and routed pro-Abbas security forces.

Since Annapolis meeting, Israel has also disclosed plans for new construction in 2008 within the Maale Adumim settlement which the Jewish state hopes to keep as part of any final peace deal.

The White House announced in early December that US President George W. Bush will visit the Middle East in January to press the Israelis and Palestinians to restart installed peace talks. A senior official in Jerusalem said both sides are waiting for Bush' s visit in the hope that the US leader will push the process towards a breakthrough.

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