JERUSALEM, 9 January 2008 — Palestinian and Israeli leaders yesterday agreed to start negotiations on the key issues at the heart of their conflict as they met on the eve of US President George W. Bush’s visit to the region.
The peace process has stumbled since it was revived at a US-sponsored conference barely six weeks ago, largely over Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and Israeli assaults against Palestinians.
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided that their top negotiators will discuss the thorniest issues of the decades-old conflict and that they will continue to meet regularly to solve any problems, officials on both sides said.
Former Palestinian Premier Ahmed Qorei and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will begin talks on the issues including Jewish settlements, Jerusalem and refugees, senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told reporters.
“It has been agreed that Abu Ala (Qorei) and Ms. Livni will start intensive meetings to immediately discuss all core issues of a final status agreement,” he said. “The president urged that the year of 2008 be made the year to reach peace,” he said. “The intention is to see to it that we give peace a chance.”
Bush arrives in Israel today on his first visit as president in a bid to forge a lasting Middle East peace deal before his term in office ends in early 2009.
A senior Israeli government official told reporters that Livni and Qorei “were authorized to discuss the core issues and hold direct negotiations on these issues toward a peace agreement. “Whenever problems or difficulties arise during their talks, the issues will be referred to Olmert and Abu Mazen (Abbas) to solve,” he said.
