US Envoy Resumes Mideast Mission
28 September 2010
U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell arrives in Israel Tuesday to pressure Israeli and Palestinian leaders to continue peace talks.
Mitchell's mission comes as Israel resumes settlement construction in the West Bank, prompting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to threaten a walkout.
Mr. Abbas says he will decide whether to quit the talks after consulting senior Arab officials next week. However, he says if settlement construction continues, Palestinians will be obliged to end talks.
He commented Tuesday from Paris, following a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Palestinian officials have called on Israel to re-impose the freeze on construction for three or four more months. The freeze expired late Sunday.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Monday the United States is disappointed Israel did not extend the partial 10-month construction ban.
Mitchell may raise the issue in his talks Tuesday with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The U.S. envoy is expected to meet with Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas later this week.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has urged Mr. Abbas to continue peace talks and pledged that Israel is "ready to pursue continuous contacts" in order to reach a "historic" agreement within a year.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
