Palestinians seek deal deadline

Mr Malki says the most of the groundwork had been covered

A Palestinian minister has called for a six-month deadline to complete a deal with Israel following the Middle East peace conference due later this year.

Information Minister Riad Malki said such a time frame was possible as much of the groundwork had been covered.

He said a joint document presented to the conference would address the main areas of dispute between the two but would not go into "minute detail".

Israel wants the document to be a non-specific declaration of principles.

It says it does not want anything that would address the main issues in detail or set deadlines.

Correspondents say the conference is part of a US-led effort to bolster the West Bank-based government of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and to isolate the Islamist Hamas movement, which took control of the Gaza Strip in June.

'Timeline'

Mr Malki said the joint document presented to the conference would broadly cover issues such as state borders, the status of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.

After the conference, Palestinians both at home and abroad would vote on the agreement in a referendum, he said.

The president believes that there should be a timeline... we do not need a long period Riad Malki

"The president believes that there should be a timeline... we do not need a long period," Mr Malki said.

"After six months of negotiations, all the participants would return to a peace conference, to endorse our agreement with Israel," he added.

On Wednesday, Mr Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed that final-status talks would begin after the conference, but Israel has shied away from giving a deadline for a peace deal.

An Israeli government spokesman, David Baker, said agreement on a peace deal was "not merely a product of how much time elapses".

Attendees at the conference - to be held in the US in late November or early December - are still unconfirmed.

Several Arab states have threatened not to attend or said the conference was doomed to failure if it does not tackle key issues and set a timetable for a final deal.

On Monday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said his government would not attend unless Syria's concerns, such as the return of the Golan Heights by Israel, were addressed.

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in January 2001.