September 15, 2010Mideast talks tackle core issues, U.S. says...
SHARM Al SHEIKH: Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Sharm Al Sheikh, Egypt, upon the conclusion of round two of the latest peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
The meeting discussed regional developments and the efforts being made by the US and Arabs to overcome obstacles to serious talks that would eventually lead to the reinstating the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights including the right to the establishment of their independent state.
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT – Israeli and Palestinian leaders met at this Red Sea resort Tuesday for their second round of direct talks, tackling for the first time some of the toughest core issues dividing the parties as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton scrambled to keep the talks from collapsing over the issue of renewed Israeli settlement construction.
No resolution of that impasse appeared to have been found during two hours of discussions, both before and after lunch, between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. But a senior U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that the settlement issue was discussed and that both men appeared interested in finding a solution.
“It is very clear to me that both leaders are sincere, are serious to want to find a way to continue the discussions,” the official said.
An Israeli official, also speaking anonymously, said: “We want the process to work, and the goal is to keep the process going. Between zero and the tens of thousands of housing units that are in the pipeline, there are a variety of options.”
Netanyahu and Abbas were scheduled to continue the talks in Jerusalem on Wednesday, along with Clinton and George Mitchell, the U.S. special envoy to the Mideast.
Mitchell sidestepped a question on whether progress was being made on the settlement dispute. He said only that “we continue our efforts to make progress, and we believe we are moving in the right direction, overall.”
He emphasized that for the first time in these talks, Netanyahu and Abbas had begun to talk about the core issues dividing them, such as borders, security, the status of Jerusalem and the rights of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
“I am not going to attempt to identify each one that was discussed, but several were — in a very serious, detailed and extensive discussion,” Mitchell said.
His remarks were significant because the former Senate majority leader had said after the first set of talks in Washington that such core issues had not been broached in a substantive way. Palestinian officials have indicated they would like to discuss borders first, while Israel officials appear more keen to discuss security.
The U.S.-Israeli-Palestinian meeting followed bilateral talks Clinton held earlier with the two leaders. But looming over this week’s diplomacy is the 10-month Israeli moratorium on settlement construction that is due to expire on Sept. 26.
Palestinian officials talked tough as they arrived at the negotiations, reiterating threats to walk out if construction does not continue to be curtailed. Netanyahu, under pressure from right-leaning members of his coalition, on Sunday rejected a total freeze but suggested some flexibility on the issue. He said Israel could not “freeze the lives” of residents but would also not begin a massive construction program.
Before she arrived here, Clinton told reporters traveling with her that although the United States wants Israel to extend the moratorium, there could be other agreements between the two sides that would improve the atmosphere for talks and permit them to continue. Palestinian officials, for instance, are seeking to begin the discussions by focusing on the potential borders of the two states, which would identify which settlements Israel might keep in a peace deal. Israeli officials want Palestinian recognition of Israel as a “Jewish homeland.”
His remarks were significant because the former Senate majority leader had said after the first set of talks in Washington that such core issues had not been broached in a substantive way. Palestinian officials have indicated they would like to discuss borders first, while Israel officials appear more keen to discuss security.
The U.S.-Israeli-Palestinian meeting followed bilateral talks Clinton held earlier with the two leaders. But looming over this week’s diplomacy is the 10-month Israeli moratorium on settlement construction that is due to expire on Sept. 26.
Palestinian officials talked tough as they arrived at the negotiations, reiterating threats to walk out if construction does not continue to be curtailed. Netanyahu, under pressure from right-leaning members of his coalition, on Sunday rejected a total freeze but suggested some flexibility on the issue. He said Israel could not “freeze the lives” of residents but would also not begin a massive construction program.
Before she arrived here, Clinton told reporters traveling with her that although the United States wants Israel to extend the moratorium, there could be other agreements between the two sides that would improve the atmosphere for talks and permit them to continue. Palestinian officials, for instance, are seeking to begin the discussions by focusing on the potential borders of the two states, which would identify which settlements Israel might keep in a peace deal. Israeli officials want Palestinian recognition of Israel as a “Jewish homeland.”
http://www.startribune.com/world/102920034.html?page=2&c=y
