By Xinhua
Ramallah : Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Tuesday that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would visit the Palestinian territories and Israel by the end this month.
"I hope that Rice's visit to the Palestinian territories and Israel would contribute to giving the stalled peace process a push forward and lead to real and serious peace negotiations with Israel," Erekat told reporters here.
He said that the Palestinian leadership would ask Rice to make Israel committed to what had been agreed upon during the latest four-way summit held in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh late June.
Earlier, a Palestinian source revealed that President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are scheduled to meet next week to discuss how to improve security and solve humanitarian issues in the Palestinian territories.
Erekat affirmed that preparations for Olmert-Abbas meeting are underway, but denied that a date has been set up for the meeting.
Meanwhile, Olmert's office also confirmed the meeting, saying that Olmert and Abbas will meet next week, without specifying the place or the exact date of the meeting, according to Israeli Radio.
On July 16, representatives of the international Quartet, which groups the United Nations, the European Union, the US and Russia, are also scheduled to convene in the region.
Earlier reports said that both Olmert and Abbas are invited to attend the Quartet meeting.