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(Haaretz) – U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell has ended his latest shuttle without agreement on terms for renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians or for setting a trilateral summit.
Envoy George Mitchell had hoped to lay the groundwork for such a meeting next week, perhaps also attended by President Barack Obama at the periphery of next week’s United Nation General Assembly in New York.
But chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, speaking to European Union consuls in Jerusalem, said the Palestinians are sticking to their demand for a total halt to Israeli settlement activity before talks can take place.
Beyond the settlement freeze issue, Erekat added that the current stalemate also centered on setting the agenda for peace talks, and the Palestinian demand to include core issues such as the future status of Jerusalem and the return of Palestinian refugees.
The demand effectively rejects an offer by President Shimon Peres which proposed that new talks would center exclusively on border disputes.
(BBC News) – Thousands of opposition supporters carried out fresh protests today to coincide with the government-backed Quds day ceremony. As president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeated anti-Israeli rhetoric, his leading opponents took to the streets to protest at his disputed re-election?
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
