Israel, Palestinian negotiators to meet Tuesday in Jordan

Jan 1, 2012, 17:43 GMT

Tel Aviv - Israeli and Palestinian envoys are scheduled to meet in Amman on Tuesday, their first direct talks in more than 15 months.

The parley, hosted by Jordan's King Abdullah II, is part of international efforts to revive long stalled peace talks, both sides reported.

Envoys of the quartet of Middle East mediators - the US, European Union, UN and Russia, are scheduled to attend, as are chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, on behalf of the Palestinians, and Yitzhak Molcho, a top aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on behalf of the Israelis.

It is to be the first official Israeli-Palestinian parley since negotiations broke off in September 2010, said a spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Negotiations Affairs Department, Xavier Abu Eid.

But he said it was not a negotiating session.

'We are just trying to create the right environment for talks, and that includes a full settlement freeze,' he told dpa.

The discussions were welcomed by members of the quartet, with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calling it a 'positive development.'

'We are hopeful that this direct exchange can help move us forward on the pathway proposed by the Quartet,' Clinton said in a statement. 'As the President (Barack Obama) and I have said before, the need for a lasting peace is more urgent than ever. The status quo is not sustainable and the parties must act boldly to advance the cause of peace.'

Negotiations have been stalled because the Palestinians say they will only talk with the Netanyahu government if it freezes settlement activity, while Israel insists on direct talks without preconditions. It says it implemented a 10-month moratorium of Israeli construction in the occupied West Bank, which expired 15 months ago, and refuses another freeze.

'This invitation is part of ongoing Jordanian efforts to compel Israel to comply with its international legal obligations ..., specifically its obligation to freeze all settlement construction in all the occupied Palestinian territory, including occupied East Jerusalem,' Erekat said in a statement.

He called on Israel to 'seize this opportunity' and stop construction in West Bank settlements and East Jerusalem, 'in order to have the conducive environment called for under the Quartet statement of 23 September 2011, for meaningful and credible talks.'

That statement had called for direct talks to be relaunched within a month, and for the sides to submit proposals on the two negotiating issues of borders and security by January 23. It also set the end of 2012 as a deadline for an agreement.

But despite the late January deadline approaching, the Quartet has as yet been unable to revive the talks.

A statement by Netanyahu's office said that 'we are grateful to King Abdullah II and to Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh for their initiative in convening the sides in accordance with the Quartet outline.'

Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Kayed called for both Israeli and Palestinian officials to make 'serious utilization' of the meeting and refrain from 'any unilateral and provocative measures that could derail this initiative and, consequently, take then entire region to dangerous developments,' according to the official Jordanian Petra news agency.

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