Israeli and Palestinian leaders meet on Tuesday, a day ahead of U.S. President George W. Bush's arrival in the region, to try to wring some sort of progress from talks that have barely advanced since a U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will discuss procedural matters, including which negotiators will be assigned to thrash out the various issues that divide the two sides, an Israeli official was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the afternoon talks at Olmert's Jerusalem residence had not yet been held. Bush is scheduled to land in Israel midday Wednesday for three days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders meant to spur still-sluggish peace talks. With the president at their side, Olmert and Abbas had pledged in Annapolis to make efforts to achieve a peace agreement before the U.S. president leaves office in January 2009.
