JERUSALEM - The Israeli and Palestinian leaders talked in broad terms Wednesday about their vision for a peace deal, Israeli officials said, and they asked drafting teams to start work next week on a joint declaration, ahead of a U.S.-hosted peace conference in November.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his official residence in Jerusalem, for talks that lasted just over two hours.
The two sides are still far apart on how detailed the declaration should be. Abbas wants a detailed framework agreement that would address the big issues -- Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, borders and Palestinian refugees. Olmert wants a shorter and vaguer guideline for future negotiations.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the statement would address all the core issues.
It was the leaders' sixth meeting in several months. "Today's discussions create a positive atmosphere for the upcoming international meeting," said David Baker, an Israeli government spokesman.
The two decided that the drafting teams would start next week, Baker said, adding that Abbas and Olmert would continue to meet twice a month.
Abbas and three senior aides arrived at Olmert's official residence around noon Wednesday.
Olmert gave Abbas a brief tour of his sukka, a traditional hut in which Jews eat during the weeklong Sukkot holiday that ends Thursday. It contained special holiday items, including the frond of a date palm tree and an etrog, a citrus fruit. Abbas and his advisers listened to the explanations.
Later, Olmert and Abbas left their aides behind in a reception area, and held a private meeting in an adjacent office. In eventual peace talks, wide gaps would have to be bridged on all the key issues.
Separately, the Palestinians have been drafting a proposed outline of a peace deal. According to a copy obtained by The Associated Press earlier this week, the Palestinians are ready to swap some West Bank land with Israel and limit the number of Palestinian refugees returning to their homes in the Jewish state, but also demand the return of all areas of Jerusalem captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.
Palestinian officials said the leaders have already exchanged ideas about a land swap. The officials said Abbas has offered to turn over some 2 percent of the West Bank in exchange for a similar amount of land from Israel. Olmert is seeking about 8 percent of the West Bank, where thousands of Jewish settlers live. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media.
Israeli officials denied the claim, saying Olmert has not discussed specific figures on a land swap.
Negotiations have been complicated since the Hamas militant group seized control of the Gaza Strip in June, routing forces loyal to Abbas' Fatah movement. Abbas heads a moderate pro-Western government in the West Bank but wields little control in Gaza.
In Gaza, meanwhile, Hamas police arrested about 20 Fatah, driving up tensions following a mysterious car explosion near a Hamas security compound on Tuesday.
The blast killed four people, including three Fatah activists and a bystander. Hamas accused Fatah of having tried to attack the security compound, saying explosives in the car apparently blew up prematurely.
"We take this criminal act very seriously and we are not going to allow anyone to gamble and play with the security of our people," said Ehab Ghussen, spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry.
Hamas has accused Fatah of repeatedly trying to bomb security installations since the June takeover. But Tuesday's incident was the first time an attempted bombing has caused casualties.
Fatah said its activists were killed by Hamas activists who fired rocket-propelled grenades at the vehicle.
About 1,400 people attended a funeral for those killed in the blast. Participants waved yellow Fatah flags and fired guns into the air. There were no clashes with Hamas security forces, and the funeral ended peacefully.
In other violence, a 19-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli army fire during a raid in southern Gaza, Palestinian doctors said. It was not immediately known whether he was a civilian or militant.
The army would only say that the operation was against "terror infrastructure" in the area. Nearby, a Hamas militant was killed when an RPG he was handling went off.
Elsewhere, a Hamas gunmen died of wounds in an explosion blamed on Israel. The Israeli army denied involvement. Also Wednesday, Hamas said a member was killed digging a tunnel near the Israeli border. Two others were hurt.
