The Palestinians and Israel will hold 10 days of intensive talks starting next Wednesday in southern Israel, trying to reach a framework peace agreement, Israel Radio reported on January 28.

In the marathon talks in the Red Sea resort of Eilat, the two sides would make a last-ditch effort to meet the February 13 deadline for concluding a framework peace agreement, as was stipulated in an interim agreement signed last September.

After the talks, which will also be participated by United States Middle East peace envoy Dennis Ross, a meeting is scheduled to be held between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to decide whether to move their talks to Washington.

The two sides have to reach tentative agreement over a host of thorny issues, like Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, Jewish settlements and water rights, before attaining the framework deal, which would pave the way for a final Palestinian-Israeli peace treaty by September 13.

Both sides have recently expressed concerns over whether they could meet the February 13 deadline, signalling the possibility of a delay of one or two months. But they have vowed to make efforts to pick up the pace of negotiations.