Post-Annapolis Talks Today In Jerusalem

UNITED NATIONS — Israeli and Palestinian Arab negotiators are expected to meet today in Jerusalem for the first in a series of talks scheduled after last month's gathering at Annapolis, Md.

However, the negotiations at the King David Hotel are already under threat, with some Palestinian Arab officials calling for a walkout after Israel issued building permits for 300 new residential units in Jerusalem.

The two sides are scheduled to discuss final borders, the fate of Jerusalem, and how to deal with the millions of Arabs whose ancestors left Palestine or otherwise lost their homes in 1948. America, the United Nations, and the European Union have criticized the issuance of new permits in an area of Jerusalem won by Israel in 1967 as a violation of the Washington-sponsored "road map" for peace. Members of President Abbas's party, Fatah, have called on him to boycott today's meeting unless Israel rescinds the building permits, according to press reports.

In a letter to the Security Council president yesterday, the Palestinian U.N. observer, Riyad Mansour, called for international action to halt Israel's "war crimes, state terrorism, and systematic violations" in Gaza on the eve of the talks. Prime Minister Olmert said Israel would ramp up its attempts to end the Kassam rocket attacks from Gaza on southern Israeli towns.