Palestinians agree to indirect peace talks with Israel

Palestinian leaders have given their backing to a round of “proximity” talks with Israel for a period of four months, with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell serving as the intermediary. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) endorsed the move, already backed by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Arab foreign ministers, Israel and the United States. Previously, Palestinian leaders said a complete halt to Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem was a precondition for resuming peace talks, which broke down early last year.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior PLO official and close aide to President Mahmoud Abbas, said the decision to resume the negotiations did not mean that the Palestinian Authority had abandoned its preconditions. “We will continue to demand a complete cessation of settlement construction,” he said after the meeting of the PLO Executive Committee in Ramallah. “We will insist that all settlement construction be halted, including in Jerusalem, and that Israel stop confiscating land, demolishing houses and changing and assaulting the national and religious heritage of Hebron, Jerusalem and Bethlehem.”

Azzam al-Ahmad, also a senior Palestinian official, was quoted as saying: "We think it is unlikely that these indirect negotiations with the Netanyahu Government will succeed, but we want to give an opportunity to the US administration to continue its efforts.”

Meanwhile, US Vice President Joe Biden is to begin a visit to Israel on Monday, during which he will meet with Israeli leaders.