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Arab Nations Back Mideast Talks

03 March 2010 23:40 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Arab League foreign ministers endorsed a U.S.-backed plan for indirect peace talks between Palestinians and Israel, providing the most hopeful opening yet for the resumption of official talks between the two sides since they broke down more than a year ago, APA reports quoting â€œThe Wall Street Journalâ€.
The Arab League’s endorsement doesn’t necessarily mean the Palestinian leadership will agree to the talks, though it is now likely. The vote gives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas political backing from friendly, regional Arab states to agree to resume talks.
Mr. Abbas has steadfastly refused to enter into direct negotiations until Israel stops West Bank settlement construction. Without Arab backing, agreeing to even indirect talks may have looked like a concession. Palestinian officials signaled they would take the U.S. up on its recent offer of hosting the indirect negotiations, or "proximity talks," between the two sides.
"This is a last chance because the Arabs are really fed up with the process," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, speaking by telephone from Cairo. He described the decision as a good-faith gesture to American mediators, who have been pressing hard for some sort of resumption.
Mr. Erekat said final decisions on the talks will be made this weekend by the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee and the Fatah Party’s Central Committee. The Palestinians will then deliver a formal answer to the U.S. next week, he said.
U.S. President Barack Obama has made re-energizing Palestinian-Israeli talks a key foreign-policy platform, but he has made little progress after a year of shuttle diplomacy by his Mideast envoy, former Sen. George Mitchell. The vote comes just days before Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to arrive in the region for meetings in Israel and the West Bank. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Israel declined to comment.
The Arab endorsement could boost U.S. hopes for an eventual return to full, direct talks. The Arab League signaled it was less optimistic. It recommended a four-month deadline to show progress, reflecting Palestinian and Arab skepticism about the prospects for reaching an agreement with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Despite the lack of conviction in the seriousness of the Israeli side, the committee sees that it would give the indirect talks the chance as a last attempt and to facilitate the U.S. role," said Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, reading from a statement.
Israel praised the decision. "Prime Minister Netanyahu has been calling continuously for the resumption of peace talks, and we hope now that the talks can move forward," said Mark Regev, the prime minister’s spokesman.
Direct talks broke down in late 2008, after Israel launched a military offensive in the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. In Damascus Wednesday, Hamas denounced the Arab League’s decision, saying it gives Israel a cover to keep expanding settlements, the Associated Press reported.
Israel has refused to agree to a full stop to West Bank settlement construction, agreeing instead only to a temporary halt in new building starts. Palestinian disappointment over Mr. Abbas’s inability to win Israeli concessions has undermined his domestic standing, making him more dependent on the backing of the Arab world to get talks starting again.
It is still unclear what exact format the talks will take. Washington has suggested U.S. officials would serve as intermediaries in the talks between the two sides, but little else has been publicly hammered out.