Israeli-Palestinian talks have been stalled by Palestinian demands that Israel drop plans to build over 300 new homes in an area near Jerusalem, as well as by the continuation of Palestinian rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
This will be the first meeting between Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas since a recent U.S.-sponsored summit in Annapolis, Maryland, where the two pledged to resume dialogue and try to forge a final settlement deal by the end of 2008.
The roadmap settlement plan proposed by international mediators requires Israel to halt the construction of settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. However, Tel Aviv insists the requirement does not extend to East Jerusalem - touted as the capital of any future Palestinian state.
The Israelis are against the separation of Jerusalem, but have agreed to continue talks on the city's status with the Palestinians.
Israel has criticized the Palestinian government for its lack of action in preventing rocket attacks by Hamas militants on Israeli settlements bordering the Gaza Strip.
Gaza has been controlled by Hamas since the hard-line Islamic group seized control of the enclave in June. Abbas's Fatah party controls the West Bank. The division of the Palestinian territories is yet another stumbling block in talks on Palestinian statehood.
U.S. President George W. Bush is set to make a tour of the Middle East between January 8 and 16 in an attempt to boost the peace process in the region. He will visit Israel, the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
