Israel: PA reviving rejected ideas in new talks
So far the Palestinians are only bringing “recycled positions” to the negotiating table in Amman, Israeli sources said Tuesday.
“Up until now – and we hope this changes – what the Palestinians have put on the table has not been as serious as it could have been,” one source said, commenting on the second round of direct Jordanian-sponsored IsraeliPalestinian talks held in Amman on Monday.
The Palestinian negotiators gave Israel their proposals for security and borders at their first meeting last week, which were believed to include a call for a full Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 lines, with a 1.9 percent land swap.
The Israeli side has presented a 21-point document outlining all the areas upon which there will need to be agreement for an accord to be signed. According to the Israeli side, this document can serve as a foundation for a framework agreement.
The sources said Israel wanted to move forward on the September format laid out by the Quartet that gives the sides three months to put comprehensive security and border proposals on the table. The sources rejected the Palestinian interpretation that the clock had already started ticking, and that these proposals needed to be submitted by January 26.
“We are making efforts for the talks to succeed,” one source said, without elaborating. He added that Israel would like to expand the talks, and that further discussions were scheduled “in the coming days.”
Parallel to the direct talks in Amman between Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molcho and his Palestinian counterpart Saeb Erekat, Quartet representatives were holding separate talks in Jerusalem with both sides.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met Tuesday with Jordanian King Abdullah II.
Afterward, according to Jordan’s Petra news agency, Abbas said the Amman talks should be utilized “regardless of how dim the prospects are.”
In an apparent endorsement of Jordan’s mediation efforts, US President Barack Obama invited Abdullah for a White House meeting on January 17.