In news from the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert traveled to the West Bank city of Jericho on Monday for a three-hour meeting with Palestinian president and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas. It was the first such trip for an Israeli prime minister since the start of the second intifada. Earlier today, Abbas promised Palestinians living in the West Bank that their lives would improve as a result of the talks. Palestinian officials said they received assurances from Olmert that Israel would approve as early as next week the removal of some of the hundreds of checkpoints, roadblocks and barriers that restrict Palestinian travel in the West Bank.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat: “They both discussed the most fundamental issues that are the basis for the creation of a Palestinian state, and they looked into the expeditious fashion of these negotiations in order to achieve their goal and establishing a Palestinian state next to the state of Israel.”

Hamas leaders have dismissed the talks as an attempt by Israel to prop up Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah.