US Middle East envoy George Mitchell has planned to resume talks with the Palestinian Authority and Tel Aviv on core issues about the direct talks between the two sides.
US Middle East envoy George Mitchell has planned to resume talks with the Palestinian Authority and Tel Aviv on core issues about the direct talks between the two sides. Mitchell is scheduled to hold talks with acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu in occupied Jerusalem on Monday. The upcoming visit comes after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "It is time to grapple with the core issues of this conflict." The direct talks broke off in no time after Tel Aviv refused to renew a partial 10-month settlement freeze that ended in late September. Mitchell's plan to visit Netanyahu and Abbas comes as a White House official had revealed earlier this week that the US has stopped urging Israel to freeze its settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories. Netanyahu said the US decision to return to indirect talks could boost peace prospects. "The US has understood after a year and half that we were in a pointless discussion about the marginal issue of building in settlements," Netanyahu told a business conference in Tel Aviv. "The US has understood that what is important is to reach the real issues, including the core issues at the heart of the conflict between us and the Palestinians," he said. Abbas is due in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss latest developments with diplomats from the Arab League. During a meeting of ministers from the Likud party on Sunday, Netanyahu commented on the Clinton address at the Saban Forum in Washington on Friday. He said he was pleased the Americans had concluded that talks on extending the settlement freeze would come to nothing and opted to move on to negotiations on the core issues. Netanyahu said there were a number of positive elements for Israel in Clinton's speech, including her comment that the negotiations will be held on all core issues at the same time. He also considered positive the fact that the United States is opposed to unilateral steps by the Palestinians at the United Nations. "There will be talks on all the core issues and not only on borders," Netanyahu told the Likud ministers.Mitchell to Resume Talks with Netanyahu, Abbas
