Middle East talks to resume

The plight of refugees is expected to be discussed

Israeli and Palestinian officials say formal peace talks between the two sides will resume on Wednesday.

Officially, talks broke down last month when the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, and the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, failed to reach a settlement during US-brokered talks at Camp David in Maryland.

Informal contacts have been maintained as negotiators try to meet a September deadline for a lasting peace agreement.

The future status of Jerusalem is one of the key issues

In another development, the Egyptian ambassador to Israel, Mohammed Bassiouni, said contacts were under way between his country, Israel, the Palestinians and the US to prepare what he called a blueprint framework accord ahead of a possible new summit.

Key issues in contention are the status of Jerusalem, the amount of land to be returned to the Palestinians, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return home.

New summit?

There has been no confirmation of where the talks will be held or when they will begin.

The US special envoy to the Middle East, Dennis Ross, is due to arrive in the region on Thursday, to try to kick-start the peace process.

Mr Ross will be assessing whether there is sufficient grounds for holding another summit.

The Israeli prime minister has been accused of making concessions

But a senior Palestinian official, Mahmud Abbas, said any summit would have to be well prepared so it did not result in failure.

Mr Abbas, who is number-two to Mr Arafat, made his comments after leading a high-level Palestinian delegation to Cairo for talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Mussa.

Trouble at home

Mr Barak, is expected to have talks on the peace process with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman later on Wednesday.

The Israeli prime minister has said an agreement could be reached soon if the Palestinians showed more flexibility.

"Time is short and we are in a very delicate period. I hope there will be a sense of vision, and the Palestinians will demonstrate flexibility," he said on Tuesday.

His comments came as he was denounced by the opposition leader, Ariel Sharon, for selling out on the issue of Jerusalem in the peace talks.

Mr Sharon was speaking at a special parliament session called during the summer recess.

Mr Barak no longer has a majority in the Knesset, which has voted to hold another special session to debate Mr Barak's powers to govern.

Mr Arafat, who has been continuing his diplomatic push in an attempt to garner support for his position, arrived in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Wednesday.

But correspondents say during his tour of more than 20 world capitals he has found little backing for his plan to declare an independent Palestinian state by the middle of September.