ISRAELI PRIME minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will resume peace talks in Jerusalem today after US envoy George Mitchell said the “negotiations were moving in the right direction” following talks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Mr Mitchell said the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, who met in the presence of US secretary of state Hillary Clinton yesterday, discussed the core issues in their second round of peace talks, but he refused to go into details.
There was no apparent breakthrough on the question of what will happen when the Israeli West Bank settlement freeze expires at the end of this month.
Senator Mitchell said he recognised this was a sensitive issue for the Israelis, but he stressed there has been no change in the American position.
“We think it makes sense to extend the moratorium especially given that the talks are moving in a constructive direction,” he said.
Ahead of yesterday’s talks, Ms Clinton indicated there were a number of ways to overcome the settlement problem. “Remember the goal is to work toward agreement on core issues like borders and territory that would, if agreed upon, eliminate the debate about settlements.”
Earlier this week Mr Netanyahu indicated that although the construction freeze will not be extended, the Israeli government will only approve limited building in settlements. However, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat rejected “half solutions” by Israel. “If it chooses any kind of settlement building, this means that it has destroyed the whole peace process and it would be fully responsible for that,” he warned.
Ms Clinton will also take part in today’s discussions in Jerusalem, reflecting Washington’s new hands-on approach to Middle East peacemaking as the sides try to reach the ambitious target of clinching a framework agreement within a year.
She will also hold her first meeting since being appointed secretary of state with Israel’s hardline foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, who stated earlier this month his conviction that the goal of reaching peace with the Palestinians was not attainable in this generation.
Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said it was unrealistic to expect a breakthrough after only two rounds of peace talks, but he told reporters at Sharm el-Sheikh that yesterday’s negotiations were very serious and touched on all the issues that were meant to be discussed.
Mr Aboul Gheit confirmed that amongst the issues discussed was the demand by Mr Netanyahu that the Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state. He expressed hope the Israeli demand, which has been rejected out of hand by the Palestinians, will not create further obstacles which will hamper negotiations.
Mr Aboul Gheit said the key issue was to demarcate the boundaries of a future Palestinian state and reach an agreement in which each side will be able to do as it wishes within its set borders.
Mr Mitchell is also expected to visit Syria in the coming days in an effort to revive the stalled Israeli-Syrian peace track.