Palestinian and European officials met US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield in the West Bank city of Ramallah today to discuss reforms and efforts to restore regional calm.
Mr Satterfield, whose arrival in the Middle East in recent days is the first time in weeks a US envoy has met Israeli and Palestinian officials, is holding a series of talks with both sides to restore calm shattered by 23 months of bloodshed.
He met Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel Razzak al-Yahya, and French Consul Demis Pietton, and was due to meet Nabil Shaath, Palestinian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, and Russian envoy Andre Vdovin later in the day.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was also scheduled to meet Mr Vdovin and Mr Pietton separately in the morning.
Palestinian officials said Mr Arafat was not scheduled to meet Mr Satterfield. They did not give a reason, but Washington has since June publicly sidelined the Palestinian leader because of what they say is his failure to act against "terror".
The latest talks aim to strengthen a fragile security deal that Israelis and Palestinians struck last week, whereby Israel is to ease its military clampdown in the West Bank and Gaza in return for Palestinian security forces ensuring calm.