PalestineWest AsiaWorld News

Israel, PA talks end with no result

A third meeting between Israeli and Palestinian Authority (PA) officials ends with not much achieved as both sides are still divided on major issues.

The US special envoy for Mideast, George Mitchell, did not reveal what core issues were discussed between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas.

The two met with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for about two hours at Netanyahu’s official residence in al-Quds (Jerusalem) on Wednesday.

Mitchell only expressed optimism that the negotiations are continuing in what he called “in the right direction,” but had fallen short of any agreement.

Mitchell told reporters at a news conference after the talks that the inconclusive talks left in doubt the prospects for their new effort to end generations of hostilities in the region.

While in Egypt the previous day, Mitchell had said that Israel must commit to extending its 10-month moratorium on illegal settlement construction in the West Bank, a partial freeze agreement that is due to expire on September 26.

This is while Netanyahu has made clear that the moratorium would not be extended beyond September 26.

Palestinian negotiators have threatened to walk away from the talks if settlement activities continue.

On September 2, the first round of direct negotiations were held in Washington upon an invitation by the US State Department. The highly publicized summit came 20 months after Tel Aviv’s devastating offensive in the Gaza Strip in December 2008 that killed over 1,400 Palestinians and led to the break-off of negotiations.

The second round of talks were held on Tuesday, Sep. 14 in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. There too, Abbas and Netanyahu delved into the core issues dividing them but could not break the impasse over the illegal settlements in the occupied land of the West Bank.

Back to top button