RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet on Oct. 27, possibly for the last time, to push forward with peace talks, Palestinian officials said on Monday. Olmert is serving as caretaker premier since he quit on Sept. 21 and his ruling Kadima party elected Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni as his successor. "President Abbas and Olmert plan to meet on Oct. 27, maybe for the last time before Olmert leaves office," a senior Abbas aide told Reuters. Israeli officials were not available for immediate reaction. Olmert, who could face criminal indictment in a corruption investigation, will remain prime minister until a new government is approved by parliament. Livni, who is Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, is trying to form a coalition. Abbas told Palestinian writers and columnists on Sunday he would discuss with Olmert an Israeli offer to quit most of the occupied West Bank. In an interview last month, Olmert said Israel should withdraw from nearly all territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war in return for peace with the Palestinians and Syria, which includes the West Bank. Abbas said that at a meeting last month, he presented Olmert with nine questions meant to clarify his new offer but had not yet received a response. "President Abbas expects to get from Olmert answers to nine queries on Olmert's offer," the aide said. Olmert and Abbas launched peace negotiations in Annapolis, Maryland last year with a goal of reaching a deal before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in January, but the talks have shown little progress. (Reporting by Wafa Amr, Editing by Jon Boyle)
An Israeli man sits inside a cage during a rally calling for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in front of Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak's home in Tel Aviv ...
