Olmert caves: he'll negotiate under fire

U.S. Pushes Israel to Increase Turnout at Conference -Steven Erlanger

By pushing Israel to accept immediate negotiations with the Palestinians on the thorny "final status" issues, with the aim to conclude a peace settlement within a year, the Bush administration is trying to attract a significant Arab presence at the peace conference in Annapolis.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's main concession so far: to agree to have final-status negotiations with Abbas before the road map first stage is carried out.
(New York Times)