JERUSALEM — The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, and Prime Minister Olmert of Israel began talks today in Jerusalem as part of efforts to work out a joint statement ahead of an American-sponsored Mideast peace conference this fall.

The session came a day after Mr. Olmert said the conference would not result in a final deal with the Palestinian Arabs and may not take place at all. Mr. Olmert’s government also was moving closer to a punishing regime of power cuts to the Gaza Strip in retaliation for rocket attacks.

Messrs. Olmert and Abbas were meeting at lunchtime today, the latest in a series of gatherings leading up to the peace conference expected to be held in November or December. The two were trying to iron out hurdles that have arisen in talks in recent days, a Palestinian Arab spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, said.

Israel has tried to play down expectations of any dramatic progress at the conference, which is scheduled to take place in Annapolis, Md.

The Palestinian Arabs are seeking an agreement addressing the core issues at the heart of the conflict: final borders, the status of disputed Jerusalem, and the fate of Palestinian Arab refugees. They also want a timeline for creation of a Palestinian Arab state. Israel wants a more general document, saying it is premature to address many of these issues.

Now continuing Palestinian Arab rocket fire from Gaza and escalating Israeli responses threaten to derail the conference before it even happens.

Addressing Jewish fundraisers from Europe and North America in Jerusalem yesterday, Mr. Olmert said he would discuss preparations for the summit when he met Mr. Abbas today. But Mr. Olmert hinted there was still a chance the conference wouldn’t take place, and said that even if it did no peace agreement would be unveiled there.

“If all goes well, hopefully, we will meet in Annapolis,” he said. “(But) Annapolis is not made to be the event for the declaration of peace.”

Frustrated by near-daily rocket attacks on Israel’s south from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave final approval to a new measure — cutting off electricity to the strip for longer periods every time rockets fall, hoping residents will pressure the militants to halt the barrages.

A negotiator for the West Bank-based Fatah government, Saeb Erekat, appealed for international intervention and called the decision to cut off power “particularly provocative given that Palestinians and Israelis are meeting to negotiate an agreement on the core issues for ending the conflict between them.”

The Israeli plan is to cut electricity for 15 minutes after a rocket attack, gradually increasing the cutoff length if the barrages continue. Israeli officials would not say when that would begin.

Despite the threat, Palestinian Arabs fired at least eight rockets and 10 mortar rounds into southern Israel yesterday, the military said. No damage or casualties were reported.