Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    RAMALLAH, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- High-ranking Palestinian sources said on Monday Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet soon in Jerusalem.

    The well-informed sources said Abbas and Olmert would discuss several issues and the understandings agreed upon by the two negotiation teams in Washington last week, without specifying the exact date for their upcoming talks.

    Chief Israeli and Palestinian negotiators Tzipi Livni and Ahmed Qurei held talks last week in the presence of U.S. officials, mainly with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice bridging their gaps.

    Qurei had rejected several proposals presented by both Livni and Rice related to reaching a mutual satisfactory understanding on a peace deal to be announced soon, the sources said.

    Qurei's rejection to the proposals urged Rice to hold contacts with both Abbas and Olmert and call on them to meet soon in order to overcome their differences, according to the sources.

    The sources said the U.S. administration is doing its utmost efforts to help the Israelis and Palestinians to reach an agreement on the permanent status issues before President George Bush leaves office by the end of this year.

    Rice is scheduled to arrive in the region on Aug. 20, where she would hold meetings with both Abbas and Olmert. Rice intends to exert more pressure on the Israelis than Palestinians, said the sources.

    The two leaders have met several times since peace negotiations resumed at a U.S.-sponsored peace conference in November. But the talks have failed to make any tangible progress due to Israeli continuation of the settlement building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.