Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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January 14, 2008

Israeli, Palestinian Officials Launch Negotiations, Airstrike Kills 3
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Palestinians
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1AE9E59:A6F02AD83191E16028783958AC5CFD2A2E7CA1C1B166B639& Talks will include
'intensive discussions' of status of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees
and the borders of a Palestinian state Israeli and Palestinian
officials have launched negotiations on core issues in an attempt to
reach a final peace agreement by the end of this year.







Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Quriea (file photo)

Negotiating teams led by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and
former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qureia met for two hours
Monday at a hotel in Jerusalem. Officials on both sides described the
atmosphere as good.

An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman says the teams agreed to
continue intensive discussions on the most intractable disputes of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These include the status of Jerusalem,
Palestinian refugees and the borders of a Palestinian state.

President Bush said on a visit to Israel and the West Bank last week
that he expects an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty to be signed by
the time he leaves office in January 2009.







Palestinian mourners carry the body of Maher Al-Mabhoh during his
funeral in the Jebaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, Monday, 14
Jan. 2008Israel and the government of Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas agreed to restart peace talks after a seven-year break at a
U.S.-hosted conference last November.

After the conference, preliminary talks between the two sides stalled
because of disputes about Israeli building plans in occupied territory
and Israeli military operations against Palestinian militants.

In another development, an Israeli missile attack on a car in the Gaza
Strip killed three Palestinian militants late Sunday. The Israeli
military says the targeted militants were involved in firing rockets
at Israel.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.




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