New Olmert criminal probe overshadows peace talks

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...section=justin

By Middle East correspondent Ben Knight
Posted 10 hours 1 minute ago

Israel says it has made significant progress towards defining the borders of a future Palestinian state, but a new criminal investigation into Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is overshadowing the talks.

It is the third time in a month Mr Olmert has met with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

The talks have been pushed along by the United States, which wants an agreement before the end of the year.

An Israeli spokesman says negotiation teams are already working with maps and have made significant progress on borders and security issues.

But the talks have been overshadowed by the criminal investigation on Mr Olmert and a growing feeling that this and other corruption allegations against him will leave him powerless to push through the difficult concessions that will need to be made.