Downing Street had to put pressure on a reluctant Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to attend Tony Blair's Middle East conference in London tomorrow after the Palestinian leadership expressed fears that the meeting will serve Israel's interests by raising new hurdles to the revival of political negotiations.

Mr Abbas had planned to send his prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, as a demonstration of scepticism about the conference, which will agree specific political and security reforms and mechanisms to revive the Palestinian economy. 

Palestinian officials said that after US and Israeli pressure forced Mr Blair to abandon his original plan for a full peace conference to push forward political talks, the leadership feared that tomorrow's meeting would do little more than set out a fresh series of targets for the Palestinians before a return to the Road Map peace process. 

The Palestinians say the conference will do almost nothing to press Israel to meet its Road Map obligations or fulfill existing commitments to ease the strictures of occupation and end settlement expansion. 

But about 10 days ago Downing Street finally persuaded Mr Abbas to travel to London in part because the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, and several Arab delegations will attend the meeting. 

"Abu Mazen [Mr Abbas] was very reluctant to go to London," said the Palestinian deputy foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah. "There was a grave concern about what this meeting was about. But we are demonstrating our interest by sending a very high level delegation." 

Israel has refused to attend the meeting but it was consulted over the agenda and won changes to the wording of the final declaration in tense meetings between Ariel Sharon's closest adviser, Dov Weisglass, and Sir Nigel Sheinwald, Mr Blair's Middle East envoy. 

Copies of confidential British working documents obtained by the Guardian show that a demand that Israel reciprocate Palestinian actions by fulfilling its obligations under the Road Map peace plan was watered down in later drafts of the conference declaration to be made tomorrow. Palestinian officials say that was at Israel's behest. 

The documents also show that the Palestinians were able to win some changes on the final declaration to the frustration of Mr Weisglass, including a recognition that economic regeneration will be hampered unless Israel lifts its matrix of roadblocks and other controls in the West Bank. The killing of four Israelis in Friday's suicide bombing outside a Tel Aviv club will have strengthened the focus on reform of the Palestinian security forces. 

But the attack will also sharpen Palestinian arguments that unless there is international pressure on Israel to fulfill commitments to halt the growth of its West Bank settlements, and to re-engage in political negotiations, it may be hard to sustain support for the fragile ceasefire put in place three weeks ago. 

Mr Blair originally wanted a fully-fledged peace conference but Israel objected and the Americans concurred.

"The initial thought of the conference was more of a political nature, a peace conference," said Mr Abdullah. "But you need two to tango. The Israelis are not there so the British thought of a more modest meeting with a less ambitious agenda." Mr Sharon won an assurance from Mr Blair during the prime minister's visit to Jerusalem in December that tomorrow's meeting would be limited to discussing Palestinian reform and not be "political" by discussing revival of the Road Map.

Mr Weisglass has travelled to London twice in the past fortnight for talks with Mr Blair's team, described by a British official as "tense". 

Palestinian sources said that Israel objected to a phrase in the first draft of the meeting's final declaration that said Palestinian reforms should be met by "reciprocal action by Israel in relation to its own commitments". Israel said the wording directly linked the conference to the Road Map, something Mr Blair told Mr Sharon would not happen.

The Palestinians suggested the words "parallel" or "simultaneous" as softer alternatives but Israel still objected. Later drafts merely "urged and expected" Israel to meet its commitments but without direct linkage. 

"There was a reference to Israel's obligations to reciprocate the steps taken by Palestinians," said Mr Abdullah. "Israel was not happy. Now the Israelis are asked or urged, or however mild you can be."

There was also wrangling over Palestinian objections to implementation of the meeting's declaration being "subject to Israel's security needs". That was watered down to "taking account of Israeli security needs". However, the Palestinians won a recognition in the draft declaration that the infrastructure of occupation is a major impediment to economic revival.