The two negotiation teams responsible for drafting the declaration attended a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas for the first time Wednesday.
"Abbas and Olmert told their teams to begin drafting the joint document next week and to complete it by the conference in the fall," Erekat said.
The November conference is expected to result in an Israeli-Palestinian declaration outlining the principles for a peace settlement. The two sides have very different visions of the document though, which threatens the success of the conference.
The Palestinians want a detailed agreement specifying each party's commitment concerning key points, such as future borders, the status of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, and Israeli settlements, whereas the Israelis want a more general guideline, preferably a declaration of intentions.
Erekat said Mahmoud Abbas hoped the November conference "will launch permanent-status treaty negotiations," adding that Abbas and Olmert would continue their meetings held once a fortnight.
U.S. State Secretary Condoleezza Rice, who will chair the conference, plans to visit the Middle East next week.
The conference was first proposed by U.S. President George Bush and subsequently approved by the Middle East Quartet comprising the United States, UN, EU, and Russia.
Prospects of a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians received a blow in June, when the Islamist group Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by Israel, seized control of the Gaza Strip controlled by the pro-presidential Fatah movement, leaving Abbas and his Fatah forces in control of only the West Bank.
The United States would like other key Arab states to attend the conference, but Arab nations are skeptical and have demanded more details.
