Israel and Palestinians Reach Agreement to Resume Peace Talks in Washington

Israel and Palestinians Reach Agreement to Resume Peace Talks in Washington


By Michael Ireland
Special Reporter, ASSIST News Service

AMMAN, JORDAN (ANS) -- Israel and the Palestinians have reached an agreement which establishes the basis for resuming peace talks, the US Secretary of State John Kerry announced yesterday (July 19), according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on its website www.bbc.co.uk. 

Kerry was speaking in Jordan, after meetings with both sides earlier, the BBC reported. He gave no details of the agreement, but said initial talks would be held in Washington "in the next week or so."

The BBC said the last round of direct talks broke down nearly three years ago over the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

John Kerry: 'The representatives of two proud people have decided that the difficult road ahead is worth traveling.' (Photo from BBC website).

Speaking in Amman, the capital of neighboring Jordan, Kerry told reporters that the parties had "reached an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis." Kerry has used the Jordanian capital as a base for this whirlwind four-day trip to the region, twice postponing his departure, the BBC said.

"This is a significant and welcome step forward," Kerry said, but stressed that it was still "in the process of being formalized."

The BBC also reported Kerry said that Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni will travel to Washington "in the next week or so" to begin initial talks.

Kerry said any details of the agreement which might be reported were "conjecture" and stressed that "the best way to give these negotiations a chance is to keep them private."

The BBC report also says Kerry thanked the Arab League, which on Wednesday gave its backing to his plan for resumed talks, saying this had made an " important difference."

Earlier on Friday, Kerry made an unscheduled visit to Ramallah in the West Bank, to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the third time this week.

The secretary of state had also spoken by phone to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and praised both leaders' courage.

"The representatives of two proud people today have decided that the difficult road ahead is worth travelling," he said.

The BBC's State Department correspondent Kim Ghattas reports the agreement sounds fragile, and could yet be derailed before talks begin.
These will be the first direct talks since the negotiations broke off in 2010, she added.

On Thursday, the White House said US President Barack Obama spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and encouraged him to continue to work with Secretary Kerry.

John Kerry met with President Abbas in Ramallah on Friday, their third meeting in a week. (Photo Mandel Ngan AP via BBC website)

Since taking office in February, Secretary Kerry has paid six visits to the Middle East in an effort to restart talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
He has said that time is running out for a two-state solution to their decades-old conflict.The issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank remains one of the biggest stumbling blocks between the two sides.
In its report, the BBC states that the Palestinian president has said that Israel must freeze settlement-building before stalled peace talks can resume, while Netanyahu has urged Abbas to return to talks without preconditions.
Earlier this year, Netanyahu ruled out removing any Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem ahead of elections in Israel. Following the vote, Netanyahu remained prime minister, leading a new coalition.
Tzipi Livni, Israeli foreign minister under centrist former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, returned to cabinet and will act as chief negotiator in any talks with the Palestinians.

Israeli cabinet minister Tzipi Livni said 'four years of diplomatic stagnation' were finished. (Photo Jacquelyn Martin AP via BBC website).

Ms Livni responded optimistically to Friday's developments on her Facebook page, saying "four years of diplomatic stagnation" were about to end, after "months of skepticism and cynicism."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, welcoming Friday's announcement, paid tribute to Secretary Kerry's efforts and commended "the leadership shown by both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas."
The settlement issue is just one of several thorny problems which have stymied previous attempts to get the two sides back to the negotiating table.

The BBC says the Palestinians have also demanded previously that any talks be on the basis of the borders in place from 1949 to 1967, when Israel seized the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

The future status of Jerusalem and any "right of return" for Palestinian refugees and their descendants are also core issues in any future peace talks.

The Palestinian position is further complicated by the the fact that Gaza is ruled by the Islamist group Hamas, whereas President A bbas's Fatah movement is in control of the West Bank.

Hamas has rejected the announcement of a return to talks, according to AFP, saying Mr Abbas had no right to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people.

In analysis by BBC Correspondent Yolande Knell in Jerusalem, the BBC reports that in his brief statement, Secretary Kerry was able to announce the breakthrough that he had worked towards over six trips to this region: a resumption in direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
However, he gave few clues about how they might succeed.

During the day, Palestinian officials told Knell they were seeking "written clear commitments" that negotiations on borders would be based on pre-1967 ceasefire lines. They also sought reassurances about what would happen if they dropped a demand for a freeze on Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Israeli journalists speculated that talks would restart with no preconditions -- as their government has demanded. But some also anticipated the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

The BBC Correspondent said it could take time before the facts become clear. Secretary Kerry was now flying back to the US -- as in Israel, the Jewish Sabbath started, and Palestinians had also started their weekend.