Olmert - Abbas

       PM Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are scheduled to meet in Jerusalem Tuesday to confirm the agreement to create negotiating committees and teams that will tackle the conflict's core issues. Olmert will also tell Abbas that Israel will not allow back into the country most of the Palestinian militants who took refuge in the Church of the Nativity when it was sieged in April 2002. The Palestinians have requested that Israel allow the transfer of the militants to the West Bank from the Gaza Strip, where they are now.A security source told Haaretz Monday that the matter has been thoroughly evaluated after requests by the Palestinians, and the conclusion is that most of the militants are still involved in terrorism. Monday, the negotiating teams headed by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and her counterpart in the talks, former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qureia, met to finalize the agreements on the framework of the negotiations. According to the deal reported in Haaretz earlier this week, all the core issues in the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians for a final-status agreement will be discussed in a special committee headed by Livni and Qureia. The core issues are considered to be the three most complex and difficult ones: borders, refugees and Jerusalem. The remaining issues such as security, trade, economics, law and civil issues will be dealt with in separate committees. Olmert and Abbas will monitor the progress of the negotiations and will contribute to resolving deadlocks. The prime minister spent all day Monday preparing for the visit by President George W. Bush, who is scheduled to arrive in Israel midday Wednesday, at the start of an eight-day visit to the region.(09,12)