Israel and the Palestinians will begin their substantive final status negotiations on November 7, the two sides announced in Jerusalem on October 29.

The date was set during the first meeting between the two negotiators, Palestinian National Authority Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo and Israel's Oded Eran.

Rabbo and Eran met Friday morning at a Jerusalem hotel for about two hours to prepare for next week's summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and US President Bill Clinton in Oslo, Norway.

During the meeting, the two also worked out several procedural issues concerning the final-status talks. Rabbo and Eran will meet again in Oslo to complete their work on procedural matters.

During the final-status talks, the two sides have to tackle such thorny issues as the final borders of the Palestinian entity, the status of Jerusalem, the Palestinian refugees, the Jewish settlements in the occupied territories and water resources.

The two sides launched their final-status talks on September 13 under the Sharm El Sheikh peace deal signed on September 5, but so far there have been no substantive negotiations conducted.

Under the peace deal, the two sides should reach a framework agreement on final-status talks by next February and sign a final treaty in September the same year.

Meanwhile, Barak phoned Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Friday morning and briefed him about the recent developments in the peace process, Barak's office said.

During their conversation, Barak also informed Mubarak about preparations for next week's Oslo summit and urged him to help push the peace process forward.