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Arab nations back peace talks

04 March 2010 18:14 (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 citing The Wall Street Journal.

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.