Mitchell: Israeli-Palestinian Talks Will Begin Within Weeks
U.S. special Middle East envoy George Mitchell announced the start of proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Mitchell will broker the indirect talks, which over the next few weeks will have him shuttling between the Palestinian territories and Israel.
“We’ve begun to discuss the structure and scope of these talks, and I will return to the region next week to continue our discussions,” Mitchell, who has been in the area since Saturday, said in a statement released Monday afternoon. “As we’ve said many times, we hope that these will lead to direct negotiations as soon as possible.”
The Palestinians have refused to engage in direct talks until Israel places a freeze on all settlement construction, including eastern Jerusalem. Israel has only partially frozen settlement expansion. On Monday it announced approval for the construction of 112 new apartments in a West Bank settlement, a move that angered Palestinians who had just agreed to the new round of indirect talks.
Mitchell addressed the concerns in his statement.
“We also again encourage the parties, and all concerned, to refrain from any statements or actions which may inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of these talks,” he said.
Mitchell met for five hours on Monday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Following the meeting, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that “the Palestinians made it clear to Mitchell that if the Israelis increase the settlements, raids of cities and assassinations during each of his visits to the region, this casts a serious doubt over the American peace efforts.”
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived Monday afternoon in Israel.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
