It seems that we’ve heard that before in the past few weeks since the Annapolis conference on 27 November, but, we are now assured, the negotiations on “core issues” actually began today. Israel’s Prime Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei’a (Abu Ala) met for about 90 minutes in a Jerusalem hotel today.
It is even said that this is the first time.
Perhaps it was the “final status” negotiations that began a few weeks ago (on 11 December, actually), while it is just today that the “core issues” were discussed …
The Baltimore Sun reports that the chief Palestinian negotiator, former Prime Minister Ahmad Qureia (Abu Alaa) told reporters after the meeting that: “It was an exploratory session, and we exchanged our views on how to approach the core issues … The talks were positive, but the path ahead is difficult.” The paper adds that the core issues, “now on the table for the first time since a U.S.-led peace effort in the final months of the Clinton administration, include the borders of a new Palestinian state, the fate of Palestinian refugees who fled what is now Israel, and conflicting claims to Jerusalem. [Israel’s Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told parliament yesterday that she was prepared to make significant territorial concessions to achieve peace but emphasized that no land would change hands until the Palestinian Authority shows that it can quell militant activity and ensure Israel’s security”. The Baltimore Sun report is published here.
The Independent reported that “The idea is to reach a so-called ‘shelf agreement’ on a future Palestinian state which the Prime Minister, Mr Olmert, has assured his cabinet will not be implemented until fulfilment of the road map’s requirements for Mr Abbas to act against armed Palestinian groups ‘both in Gaza and the West Bank’.” The Independent story is posted here.
