US Middle East Envoy Fails in Bid to Restart Peace Talks
VOA News 22 January 2010
U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell has failed to lure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas back to peace talks with Israel.
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat says Mitchell appealed to Mr. Abbas to resume negotiations during their meeting Friday in the occupied West Bank.
But Erekat says Mr. Abbas told Mitchell he must first get Israel's government to drop its conditions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently ordered a 10-month freeze on new settlement construction in the West Bank. The temporary freeze does not apply to East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as a capital of a future state.
On Thursday, Mitchell met separately with Mr. Netanyahu and Israeli President Shimon Peres.
The U.S. envoy's latest visit to the region came as hopes appear bleak that the U.S. could persuade the Israelis and Palestinians to restart negotiations any time soon.
In an interview with U.S. news magazine Time published Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama said his administration overestimated its ability to get the Israelis and Palestinians to restart peace talks. He said getting the two sides to negotiate is "really hard."
Both the Israelis and Palestinians have traded accusations this week.
Prime Minister Netanyahu accused Palestinian leaders of not responding to U.S. and Israeli calls to engage in peace talks. He also said that as part of a peace deal, Israel must keep a military presence in the West Bank to prevent weapons smuggling.
Saeb Erekat questioned why Israel would insist on being on Palestinian territory.
Palestinians say a peace treaty must require Israel to fully withdraw from the West Bank.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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