U.S., Israel, Palestinians consider three-way security meeting

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Security officials from Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the United States could meet this weekend to discuss ways to curb Israeli-Palestinian violence, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

If the meeting takes place, CIA Director George Tenet would represent the United States.

"There is no final decision on whether to go ahead, but it is under discussion" said an official.

Officials denied suggestions from Israeli officials that a formal trilateral committee on security is in the works.

"What's being talked about now is a possible trilateral meeting, not a formal structure," said one official.

The meeting would be held in Cairo, Egypt, officials said. Its goal would be to revive top-level security cooperation between the Israelis and Palestinians. That cooperation improved after the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in October, but has been sporadic since then, sources say.

Tenet and other CIA officials have played an important behind-the-scenes role in the Middle East in recent years, brokering meetings between Israeli and Palestinian security officials.

From CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor

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Mike Hanna: Mideast officials on each side under pressure at home
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