PALESTINIAN, ISRAELI LEADERS CONTINUE PEACE TALKS IN JERUSALEM
Baku, September 15 (AZERTAC). Israeli and Palestinian leaders will continue peace talks Wednesday alongside U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as tensions mount over the possibility of new Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Palestinians have said construction would torpedo the negotiations, but Israel has said some construction is likely.
On Wednesday, Clinton said she was glad to be back in Jerusalem and participating in peace talks.
"I`m well aware of the obstacles that stand in the way of peace," she said. "I know that this long history of conflict and distrust hangs over everything. But I see the future that can deliver on the aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians."
The latest round of talks started in Egypt on Tuesday, when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began "a serious discussion on core issues," said U.S. special envoy George Mitchell, who is attending the negotiations.
"They have agreed to begin first on working to achieve a framework agreement for permanent status," Mitchell said Tuesday. "That work is now well under way."
Netanyahu is under pressure from the Palestinians and the Obama administration to extend a 10-month moratorium on building Israeli settlements in the disputed West Bank territory. That moratorium is set to expire September 26.
Mitchell briefed the media after an almost two-hour session in Egypt. He said the goals include condemnation of violence, working toward security and a resolution of all issues.
Mitchell said he wouldn`t divulge many details about the talks, noting the importance of confidentiality and sensitivity. But he said "our vision is for a two-state solution."
"That includes a Jewish, democratic state of Israel living side by side in peace and security with a viable, independent, sovereign and contiguous state of Palestine," he said. "But of course, this is one of many sensitive issues the parties need to resolve themselves, and that`s the point of negotiations."
The peace talks are aimed at resolving all core issues within 12 months in a process that kicked off recently during a meeting of Abbas, Netanyahu and Clinton in Washington.
Mitchell reiterated the Obama administration`s position that Israel should extend the moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank.
Other issues include the future of Palestinian refugees, Israeli security and the status of Jerusalem.
After the negotiations in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Clinton is scheduled to meet with King Abdullah in Jordan while Mitchell will travel to Syria and Lebanon to update senior officials in those two countries on the talks.
Acknowledging that the settlement issue is sensitive in Israel, Mitchell said both sides have a responsibility to continue the meetings and called on Abbas to take steps to advance the talks.
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