Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (R) shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (R) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

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    Palestinian official: Abbas-Olmert meeting is "deep, positive"

    RAMALLAH, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Saturday night that a meeting held earlier between President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "was deep and positive."

    Abbas met with Olmert in West Jerusalem to discuss political, security and financial issues.

    Erekat told a news conference in Ramallah after the two-hour meeting that the meeting was held after almost one year of disconnection of ties between the two sides.

    Olmert-Abbas meeting ends

    JERUSALEM, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- A long-awaited summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian National Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas ended Saturday night at Olmert's residence in Jerusalem.

    Officials described the meeting as a private one, and the two leaders did not hold a press conference.

    Olmert and Abbas start the meeting

    JERUSALEM, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is holding talks Saturday evening at Olmert's residence in Jerusalem.

    The meeting is being described as a private one, and Israeli officials refused to specify what the two leaders will talk about.

    "We don't know how long the meeting will last," Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Foreign Affair Ministry, said to Xinhua. "We will have a statement after the meeting," he added.