ABBAS BACKS OUT OF PEACE CONFERENCE

'We won't attend ME talks at any price' (JPost)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday that the Palestinians won't go to the Annapolis conference "at any price."

His comments came as senior PA officials said it was almost certain that the conference would be postponed because of the failure of Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to achieve progress on any of the fundamental issues, such as Jerusalem, the borders and refugees.

One official described Rice's current shuttle mission as a failure, saying she had failed to persuade Israel to change its "tough" position regarding Palestinian demands.

The Palestinians are demanding a comprehensive agreement with Israel on all the core issues before the conference, as well as an agreement on a fixed timetable for implementing the accord.

"I doubt if we will go the conference," said a top PA official. "The Americans and Israelis are not serious. We don't want to make fools out of ourselves."

"We can't waste more time," Abbas told reporters after meeting with Rice. "We can't go the conference at any price. This is unacceptable."