Israeli, Palestinian Officials Convene in Jordan
For the first time in months, official Israeli government representatives will meet with Palestinian officials in Amman on Tuesday, at the behest of King Abdullah of Jordan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s envoy for peace process, Issac Molho, is expected to discuss security arrangements and border issues with chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat, with the participation of Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, who will mediate between the parties.
Palestinian sources told Haaretz that the two will first meet with representatives of the Middle East Quartet the United Nations, United States, EU and Russia. The Quartet has asked both sides to come prepared to present their positions on security arrangements and borders.
Palestinian sources stressed that they have no expectation of a diplomatic breakthrough in the short term, both because of the composition of the Israeli government and because of the U.S. presidential election campaign that is starting to get under way. They believe that there will be no progress in peace negotiations until after the American election in November.
They did note, however, that on January 26 the 90-day deadline the Quartet had set for resuming talks would pass.
“After January 26, we have many steps we can take and we will consider how to proceed,” a Palestinian official said.
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