US Envoy, Israeli PM Discuss Indirect Peace Talks
VOA News
05 May 2010
U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell is set to begin talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday, in an effort to restart indirect peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The two will hold a series of meetings in Jerusalem before Mitchell travels to Ramallah Friday for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
However, an Israeli deputy prime minister cast doubt on negotiations, shortly before the talks were due to get under way. The Jerusalem Post quotes Dan Meridor as saying indirect talks will not work because Palestinians are trying to avoid making "tough decisions" by attempting to convince U.S. negotiators to accept their position.
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Abbas is in Egypt Wednesday for talks on the peace process with President Hosni Mubarak. He held similar talks Tuesday with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah.
Israel and the Palestinians broke off negotiations more than a year ago.
The Palestinians say direct talks will not happen until Israel stops building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. They say they have received assurances from the U.S. that all core issues will be discussed this week.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
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