Premiers meet as Middle East peace hopes rise

The Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers were meeting today in a new climate of hope after a Palestinian terror truce, removal of Israeli tanks and roadblocks in Gaza and a deal to give the Palestinians security control over the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

The meeting is the third between Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas and Israel’s Ariel Sharon, a sign that after 33 months of bloodletting, the two sides might be moving seriously to end their conflict.