Peace talks in Berlin? German Chancellor Angela Merkel and peace envoy Tony Blair will jointly organize a Middle East peace conference at the beginning of June in Berlin, German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Friday.
All European Union members, several Arab states, the Middle East quartet of Russia, the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Palestinian and Israeli officials will all be invited to the talks, the paper said, without identifying the source of its information.
The aim of the meeting will be to push forward the peace process and prepare Palestinians to take over responsibility for their own state, the paper added.
Meanwhile, European Union leaders on Friday condemned Israeli plans to build hundreds of new homes in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, and called on Israel to act swiftly to keep peace efforts alive.
"The EU reiterates that settlement building anywhere in the occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law," the bloc's presidency said in a statement after a summit of EU leaders.
"Settlement activity prejudges the outcome of final status negotiations and threatens the viability of an agreed two-state solution. The European Council therefore urges Israel to take immediate action in particular on settlements and outposts," The leaders said.
Israel said on Sunday that plans to build a total of 750 homes in Givat Ze'ev, near Jerusalem, were being revived.
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