Timing out of joint

Israel and the PLO prepared for talks aimed at lifting obstacles delaying an Israeli troop pull-out from occupied lands, with each side differing widely on how long an agreement will take, Reuter reports from Jerusalem. The PLO said three weeks; Israel put it at two months. The two sides are to resume suspended talks in Taba today, to narrow gaps blocking implementation of the peace accord they signed in September. In the occupied West Bank, three officials of the PLO's main Fatah faction resigned their committee posts in protest at the way the PLO is run, Palestinian sources said.