RAMALLAH, West Bank —  A meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (search) and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has been postponed until the end of the month, Palestinian official Nabil Abu Rdeneh said Monday.

The meeting, which would be the first between the two since Israel's Gaza Strip (search) pullout last month, had already been postponed once and was tentatively rescheduled for Tuesday. But Abu Rdeneh said more time was needed.

"There was not enough preparation for this summit," he said. "The meetings between Palestinian officials and Israelis will continue in the coming weeks to prepare for this summit."

He said the meeting would take place in late October or early November.

Differences between the two sides on Israel's handover of additional West Bank (search) towns to Palestinian control and further Palestinian prisoner releases have been the most recent sticking points.

Both sides have said they were interested in having a meeting that would produce concrete results.