RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas accused Israel of Wednesday of taking action that could hamper peacemaking and warned he would not attend a US-sponsored meeting unless it yielded results.

'Time must not be lost because that's not in anyone's interest. We cannot go to the meeting at any cost. It is unacceptable to go there at any cost,' Abbas told reporters after talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Wednesday he would not attend a forthcoming US-sponsored Middle East meeting at any cost, calling for a timetable on reaching a deal with Israel.

'Time must not be lost because that's not in anyone's interest. We cannot go to the meeting at any cost. It is unacceptable to go there at any cost,' Abbas told reporters following talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

PETAH TIKVA, Israel, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised Thursday to hold further talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas after the Jewish high holidays that end next month.

'After the holidays, I will meet Abu Mazen again,' Olmert said in a keynote speech delivered to his centrist Kadima party in the town of Petah Tikva.

Israel will close down totally, sealing itself off from the outside world for 24 hours to mark the Jewish day of atonement, Yom Kippur, from Friday at sundown until Saturday evening.

PETAH TIKVA, Israel, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised Thursday to hold further talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas after the Jewish day of atonement Yom Kippur that ends Saturday.

'After the holiday, I will meet Abu Mazen again,' Olmert said in a keynote speech delivered to his centrist Kadima party in the town of Petah Tikva.

'We want to reach understandings that will permit the conclusion of an agreement with the Palestinians in order to foster a successful international conference in November,' Olmert added.

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - The US-sponsored Middle East peace conference should take place in November, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Thursday after meeting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

'I discussed numerous questions with Madame Rice, notably the peace process and the good preparation that is needed to assure the success of the international meeting that should take place in mid-November,' Abbas said at a press conference with Rice.

AMMAN, Aug 15, 2007 (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas reiterated on Wednesday there will be no talks with Islamist Hamas, but acknowledged that the group is an 'integral' part of the Palestinian people.

'We don't say there will be no dialogue with Hamas but we say they first must return what they took,' Abbas said during a surprise visit to Jordan to address a meeting of the General Union of Palestine Workers.

'We don't deny that Hamas is an integral part of the Palestinian people.'

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug 15, 2007 (AFP) - President Mahmud Abbas's office on Wednesday denied that it had published a decree that made changes to the current Palestinian electoral law.

'The president has held discussions with groups from the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) on a draft of an electoral law, with the aim of publishing a presidential decree on the next elections,' Ahmad Daud, the director of Abbas's press office told AFP.

'But this decree has not yet been published.'

CAIRO, Aug 7, 2007 (AFP) - Upbeat after his latest meeting with the Israeli premier, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is to meet Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday to discuss the Middle East peace process.

Abbas arrived on Tuesday in the Mediterranean post city of Alexandria for the talks, which will take place amid 'exerted efforts to revive the peace process,' the official MENA news agency reported.

CAIRO, Aug 7, 2007 (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria on Wednesday to discuss the Middle East peace process, state media reported.

Abbas is to arrive in Egypt on Tuesday for the talks, which come amid 'exerted efforts to revive the peace process,' the official MENA news agency reported.

The meeting follows talks on Monday between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the West Bank city of Jericho to discuss steps towards creating a Palestinian state.

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug 5, 2007 (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet on Monday in the West Bank town of Jericho, a senior Abbas aide told AFP on Sunday.

'The meeting will happen tomorrow in Jericho,' said Nabil Amr, a political advisor to the president, in the first official confirmation of the encounter.

No immediate comment was available from the Israeli authorities.