JERUSALEM — Palestinian officials Monday angrily denied a claim by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that they had agreed to delay talks on the fate of Jerusalem until the last phase of peace negotiations.
Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are to meet today for the latest in a series of U.S.-backed talks aimed at reaching a peace deal by the end of the year.
In a speech Sunday, Olmert said he and Abbas agreed to make sorting out conflicting claims to Jerusalem the last item on the negotiating agenda because it is “the most difficult” issue.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat rejected those ideas Monday. “Core issues are inseparable,” Erekat said. “They are all one package, and there is no such agreement to exclude or delay any of them.”
