Special Report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    RAMALLAH, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) can reach a deal on a joint document of principles in the last quarter of hour before a U.S.-sponsored peace summit is convened, a Palestinian negotiator said on Thursday.

    The peace conference is set to kick off on Nov. 27 in Annapolis, Maryland of the United States. To ensure the success of the conference, the Palestinians and Israelis are negotiating on a joint document before the conference is to be held but great gaps still remain.

    Speaking from Washington, former Palestinian minister Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the Palestinian negotiating team for the Annapolis meeting, added that the invitation to the conference had included "important elements like emphasizing the Road Map peace plan and the Arab peace initiative as the reference for the peace process."

    "Though the letter of invitation is clear, we will keep the discussions to agree on the document until the conference is held," Abed Rabbo said.

    A number of Palestinian officials have arrived in Washington in preparation for the conference even before they agree with Israel on the joint document that will outline the mechanism of talks on final status issues.

    Abed Rabbo said the conference will be "an international political occasion to launch the final status negotiations to resolve outstanding issues (between Israel and the PNA) before President Bush's term ends."

    "The success or the failure of the conference is subject to the negotiations that will launch after the conference and what they will achieve," said Abed Rabbo.