Middle East: signs of a resumption of negotiations
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he expects peace talks with the Palestinians to resume in the coming weeks, nudged on by the United States, after being stalled for more than a year.
“I have reasons to believe, realistically, that we will resume the peace process with the Palestinians, without prior conditions, in the coming weeks,” he told his audience at a conference on security in Herzliya, nothern Israel.
Without providing details, the premier suggested that the United States had a hand in the breakthrough.
Talks came to an abrupt halt when Israel invaded the Gaza Strip in December 2008. Since then, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has steadfastly refused to resume them until Israel completely halts construction in the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, something Netanyahu has been unwilling to do.
“It is customary to say that it takes two to tango, but it sometimes takes three in the Middle East, at least to get started dancing the tango, after which I suppose a couple can carry on dancing,” he said.
“I hope that if there is willingness on the Palestinian side to build peace, to conduct negotiations to reach a peace accord, we will see a resumption of the peace process in the coming weeks,” he added.
