Israel and the Palestinians pushed forward with efforts to arrange a summit between their leaders yesterday, while a US envoy arrived in the region to try to revive long-stalled peace talks.

　　Senior palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was to meet yesterday with Dov Weisglass, the chief of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office, to lay the groundwork for a meeting between Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia.

　　The meeting came despite a threat by Qureia to pull out of peace talks if Israel does not halt construction of a West Bank security barrier.

　　Meanwhile, US envoy William Burns was scheduled to meet with Sharon and Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, after meeting Qureia in Amman, Jordan. Burns is the first senior US official to meet the sides since Qureia's new Cabinet was sworn in earlier this month.

　　In another development, four key Palestinian negotiators of a symbolic peace agreement said they would not attend a signing ceremony in Switzerland today after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat refused to give written approval for the accord. While the "Geneva Accord" is an unofficial deal, it enjoys significant support among Israelis and Palestinians.

　　Qureia issued his threat on Saturday, saying he sees no need to meet with Sharon if Israel does not show a willingness to compromise on the barrier and a host of other contentious issues."If they have an honest desire to seriously study these issues, the meeting will take place," Qureia said. "If the Israeli government says it will continue building the wall ... then there is no need for any meeting."

　　Israel says the barrier is necessary to block Palestinian suicide bombers. But Palestinians say the structure is an Israeli effort to seize Palestinian land. The barrier is expected to run 692 kilometers along the Israel-West Bank border, but parts will dip deepsintosthe West Bank.Sharon will not accept any preconditions for a meeting with Qureia.

　　In recent days, the Israeli prime minister has said he plans a series of "unilateral" steps if peace talks with the Palestinians fail. Sharon has not detailed the steps, but media reports have said they could include the dismantlement of isolated Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.

　　Yesterday, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Sharon and army chief, Lieutenant General Moshe Yaalon, have clashed over the unilateral measures. The military opposes unilateral dismantling of settlements, saying they would reward terror, the report said.