Palestinians want the US to explain its position on resuming the Middle East peace regulation. That was the reaction of the head of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas to Washington's intentions to host "indirect negotiations" between Israel and Palestine.
"Indirect negotiations" should precede the resumption of a full-scale dialogue. They are planned to feature officials instead of the two countries' leaders. Talks in the Middle East were breached more than a year ago after Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Generally, Palestinians and Israelis support the resuming of negotiations, but their approaches differ. Benjamin Netanyahu's government would like the talks to resume without preliminary conditions. Palestine finds talks possible only after Israel ends its settlement activity on the West Bank of Jordan and in East Jerusalem. All attempts to overcome this obstacle have resulted in nothing.
The US, probably, tries to stimulate the Palestinian-Israeli dialogue by its proposal. However, Palestinians may be dissatisfied with it. Israeli settlements present an essential problem for them. Thus, Mahmoud Abbas wants Washington to explain its intentions. According to the head of the "Russian-Arabian Dialogue" center at the Russian Academy of Sciences Anatoly Egorin, certain measures are needed to resume bilateral talks.
"I believe, that first of all it is necessary to stop seizing the Palestinian territories by building houses. The border between the future state of Palestine and Israel should be clearly defined".
Certainly, it will not be easy for Israel's government. It will have to revise its policy and renounce ancient stereotypes shared by a considerable part of society. It's also difficult for America to be objective in the conflict. Primarily, it has to take into account the interests of its strategic partner which is Israel. All this makes one treat the idea of "indirect" Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and the resumtion of the Middle East peace regulation skeptically.
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