Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will meet next week in Egypt in the first direct talks since Abbas dissolved a coalition government with Islamist Hamas, Israeli and Palestinian officials said Thursday.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak invited Olmert, Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for a Mideast summit aimed at renewing stalled peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The regional gathering is the biggest show of support yet by moderate Arab states for the beleaguered Abbas in his bitter showdown with his Hamas rivals, who seized control of Gaza by force last week.
Abbas will appeal to Olmert to resume peace talks, saying the only way to stabilize the situation with Hamas is to show Palestinians that progress is being made on the creation of their own state, spokesman Saeb Erekat said.
Abbas has been bolstered by support from the international community after he dismissed the Hamas-Fatah coalition government and appointed an emergency cabinet earlier this week.
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