The Arab Peace Initiative Committee will meet Thursday at the Arab League’s Cairo headquarters to hear a report by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on the outcome of three-month-old indirect negotiations–or “proximity talks”–with Israel.
Abbas will also brief the committee on a proposed move to direct negotiations, in light of Israel’s views and those of the US, which is currently mediating the talks.
Arab League sources have ruled out the possibility of such a move, however, due to intransigence on the part of the Israeli government, which continues to announce the construction of Jewish-only settlements on Palestinian land. The Palestinians demand a halt to all settlement building before direct negotiations can begin.
The same sources expect the US to exert pressure on the PA and Arab countries to make the move to direct talks. They also said the league would most likely wait for the deadline of the current indirect negotiations to expire next month before making a decision.
Saleh Zeydan, member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, for his part, said his organization agreed with Egypt that a move to direct negotiations would be of little value at the current juncture.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
