Israel and Palestine to reopen negotiations after a year of deadlock

LEON WATSON
UK Daily Mail
January 3, 2012

Israeli and Palestinian representatives are expected to meet in Jordan today to relaunch negotiations after more than a year of deadlock.

The special envoy for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, attorney Yitzhak Molcho, and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat will meet in Amman.

Representatives of the Middle East Quartet – made up of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia – will also attend.

Peace talks between the two sides fell apart more than a year ago over disagreements on the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

In September, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made a bid for the United Nations to recognise a Palestinian state, a move Israel called premature without direct talks that address its long-standing security concerns.

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