Hopes rose yesterday that the leaders of Israel and Palestine would meet for ground-breaking "talks about talks" as early as next month after Israel and the United States appeared to be edging towards a deal on Jewish settlements in occupied Palestine.
After four hours of discussions between the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and George Mitchell, the US special envoy to the Middle East, in London yesterday, Israeli sources said progress was being made. Mr Mitchell will resume these talks with Israeli officials in Washington next week, but hopes are rising that, under the auspices of President Barack Obama, Mr Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, will hold their first face-to-face meeting at the UN in New York in September.
Palestinian sources indicated yesterday that Mr Abbas would be open to such a meeting although they said that, if it did go ahead, it would offer the chance to talk, not to negotiate. Mr Abbas has refused to enter into negotiations until construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories comes to a halt - a demand backed by Mr Obama to the disquiet of many Israelis, including many in Mr Netanyahu's own cabinet.
Although neither side would give details of any movement on the issue yesterday, it is believed that the Americans are proposing a freeze on new construction while allowing the Israelis to complete some of the 2,500 homes already being built on the West Bank. East Jerusalem, however, remains a major sticking point, with Mr Netanyahu insisting after meeting Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, on Tuesday, that Israel would never surrender occupation of the entire city.
For his part, Mr Abbas has said the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital was "non-negotiable". Nevertheless, in the wake of yesterday's meeting in London, sources insisted that good progress had been made "on political issues", though they would not go into any detail. A statement issued by the Israelis after the meeting said: "The prime minister and George Mitchell agreed that there is a need to begin meaningful negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in order to move towards a regional peace agreement. "The two also agreed that all sides should take practical steps to advance peace. Israeli officials will meet Mr Mitchell again next week in the United States."
Before he went into yesterday's talks, Mr Netanyahu, who will have a meeting in Berlin today with Chancellor Angela Merkel, said: "We are making headway. My government has taken steps in both words and deeds to move forward." He expressed the hope that he would soon be able to resume "normal talks" with the Palestinians shortly. However, diplomatic sources in London said after yesterday's meeting Mr Netanyahu is finding himself increasingly on the horns of a diplomatic dilemma on the settlements issue.
Internationally, he is facing increasingly strident, US-led demands that all building must stop while, domestically, his right-wing coalition cabinet, which only came to power in March, could fall apart if he accedes to a construction freeze. The prime minister has tried to play down the issue since arriving in London on Monday. "The settlements have been turned into the root of the conflict, and that simply isn't the case," he told reporters.
While accepting that "the question of the settlements is a problem", he added: "The main problem is the [Palestinian] refusal to recognise Israel as the Jewish state." Mr Netanyahu said that what Israel was trying to achieve in its continuing talks with the US was "to find a bridging formula that will enable us to at once launch a process but enable those residents [in West Bank settlements] to continue living normal lives".
The term "normal life" has been increasingly used by Israeli representatives recently to signify that they believe construction of homes, schools and other facilities should be allowed to cater for the natural population growth of the 300,000-plus Jewish settlers illegally settled in the West Bank. In a bid to offer the Israelis a carrot for halting settlement construction, Mr Mitchell is trying to get Arab states to make some gestures towards Israel, believed to include the resumption of trade ties with Oman and Qatar.
Mr Netanyahu is also believed to want Saudi Arabia to open its air space to Israeli aircraft and to engage in low-level diplomatic ties. @Email:dsapsted@thenational.ae
