Article published on the 2009-09-18 Latest update 2009-09-18 11:58 TU
US special envoy George Mitchell (l) meets with Isreali President Shimon Peres (r) in Jerusalem, 13 September 2009.
(Photo: Reuters)
“Mitchell told us he did not reach an agreement with the Israelis on freezing settlements,” Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said after Mitchell met with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah.
Mitchell has been shuttling back and forth, holding talks with both Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to win agrrement to hold three-way talks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month.
The latest round of peace talks started in November 2007, after a seven-year hiatus. The talks made little progress and were suspended in December 2008 following the Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip. Palestinians have said they will not sit down with Israelis until all new settlement construction on Palestinian territory is stopped.
More than half a million Israelis live in West Bank settlements, considered illegal by most countries in the world.
2009-09-07 10:38 TU