Mitchell, Netanyahu to meet again Sunday
Netanyahu meets with US special envoy for more than hour in Jerusalem, but parties fail to reach agreement on restarting peace process. Discussions to resume Sunday; prime minister still waiting for answers from Palestinians
Meeting rounds continue, but still no agreement: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday met with US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell at his Jerusalem office. The two are scheduled to meet again on Sunday in an attempt to reach conclusive agreements.
The decision to meet again indicates that the two have yet to reach a full agreement on certain key issues. Netanyahu said he was waiting for additional answers from the Palestinian side, before any conclusions are made.
Mitchell and Netanyahu's meeting lasted over an hour and focused mainly on resuming the peace talks. The prime minister's envoy on the Palestinian matter -Attorney Yitzhak Molcho and National Security Advisor Uzi Arad - and Mitchell's deputy David Hale also participated in the meeting.
Sources at the Prime Minister's office said the meeting was successful and constructive.
Earlier, Mitchell met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the Kirya army base in Tel Aviv and he is slated to meet President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas later during his visit.
Optimism in Jerusalem, Ramallah
Prior to the meeting with Netanyahu, officials in Jerusalem said they were optimistic about the possibility of launching proximity talks with the Palestinians. They estimated that if there were no hindrances, the announcement might be made during Mitchell's visit – by Sunday.
The sources estimated that Israel will put on the table a number of gestures, including releasing prisoners, removing roadblocks and checkpoints in the West Bank and devolution of security-related matters in certain areas to the Palestinian Authority.
Good meeting. Netanyahu and Mitchell (Photo: GPO)
Despite taking a cautious approach, the Palestinian Authority also estimated negotiations to be announced in the days to come and said the US demands put forth to the Israeli side were encouraging.
"The question is how the US plans on forcing the Israelis to implement these gestures, what are the enforcement mechanisms and whether negotiations will take place with a clear time-table dictated by the Americans," a senior Palestinian source told Ynet.
According to the source, US President Barack Obama already emphasized the need to reach a political agreement within two years, but said a few months of stalled talks had already passed since Obama's statement.
Among US demands are that Israel engages in serious discussion vis-à-vis transferring certain lands in areas B and C to area A; allowing Palestinians to operate police stations in areas B and C; significant alleviation of Palestinians' free movement inside the West Bank; extensive removal of checkpoints; releasing prisoners and allowing Palestinians to operate institutions such as the Orient House and the Trade Bureau as well as other institutions in Jerusalem.
