A two-hour meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams held in Jerusalem Monday was concluded without yielding results or progress in talks.
The Palestinian team insisted that Israel should immediately halt construction of settlements in the territories, while the Israelis stressed the urgent need for the Palestinian Authority to start implementing security reforms in the West Bank.
Prior to the meeting, the Palestinian representatives stated that the expansion of settlements could hinder peace negotiations. Head of the PLO's Executive Committee Yasser Abd Rabbo said that Israel's decision to expand construction in Har Homa and Maale Adumim was "a landmine" that endangered the talks.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat added that Israel must choose between the path of settlements, destruction and targeted killings and the path of negotiations and peace. Abbas' advisor Nabil Amr stated that the construction cast "a black cloud" on the meeting.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are scheduled to meet later in the week for the first time since the Annapolis peace conference in November. The two leaders will try to resolve the main problematic issues obstructing the talks at this point.
Ali Waked contributed to the report
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