Bush to meet Abbas on Wednesday-Palestinian officials
U.S. President George W. Bush will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday in New York to push forward peace talks but rejects Abbas’s planned unity government with Hamas, a Palestinian official said. “We agreed to pursue the talks on all issues with President Bush and (Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice,” Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat said after meeting U.S. Consul-General Jacob Walles. Erekat said Abbas would meet Bush in New York during his visit to the U.N. General Assembly. Palestinian officials said Walles told them the U.S. leadership rejects Abbas’s deal with the Hamas militant group to form a unity government. Full Story