Abbas to discuss peace talks, Gaza blockade with Obama
07:33 09/06/2010 WASHINGTON, June 9 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday, the White House said.
The two leaders will meet behind closed doors in the White House's Oval Office.
The talks are expected to focus on the results of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and possible resumption of direct dialog.
Abbas said last week that during his visit to the United States he will ask President Barack Obama to make "bold decisions" regarding the Middle East peace settlement.
"During our meeting in Washington, I will tell him that bold decisions are needed to change the situation in the region," he said.
In his op-ed on Tuesday, Abbas reiterated his commitment to the peace process despite the recent Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound aid ship, Freedom Flotilla.
"Despite the harsh realities imposed upon us, the Palestinian side intends to negotiate in good faith in order to end the state of conflict that has plagued our region for so long," he said.
Fatah Central Committee member Mohammad Dahlan told Palestine Note that Abbas would also seek "serious answers from Obama about a serious political solution to the occupation."
The Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip and the recent attack on the Freedom Flotilla humanitarian aid convoy in neutral waters which left at least nine people dead are also expected to be on the agenda.
"He [Abbas] is going to urge the administration to use whatever leverage they have with the Israelis in order to end this inhumane blockade and siege of the Gaza strip," a representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization representative Maen Rashid Areikat said in an interview with The Cable.
Israeli-Palestinian direct peace talks came to a halt in December 2008, when Israel launched an attack on the Gaza Strip in a bid to put an end to the firing of homemade rockets at southern Israel by Palestinian militants based in the enclave. The conflict left 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.
Palestinians have so far cited ongoing Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, both occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, as a main obstacle to the peace process.
Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) approved in May a U.S. proposal for indirect peace negotiations, dubbed the "proximity talks." The sides held two round of talks: the first one focused on border issues and security, the second — on legal issues.
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