Jerusalem: Israel and the Palestinians are set to resume US brokered peace negotiations here today after a three-year of hiatus, even as the Jewish nation freed 26 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture.
There were extremely low expectations on both the sides over the outcome of the fragile peace talks as Palestinian fears that Israeli announcements of settlement plans could torpedo the talks.
As per US Secretary of State John Kerry’s announcement last month, the negotiations between the two sides will be held under American mediation. Israel today released the Palestinian prisoners with “blood on their hands” after decades of incarceration in prisons as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to bolster his position among Palestinians. But the move coming in the wake of an Israeli announcement regarding strengthening of Jewish settlements failed to impress the common Palestinians. A close aide to Abbas, Yasser Abed Rabbo warned Israel’s attempts to build new housing units could lead to a quick collapse of peace talks.
“The talks might collapse any time because of the Israeli practices,” Rabbo, an adviser to Abbas told Voice of Palestine radio today. Israeli politicians gave a very guarded response on the initiative but hardliners in the government openly expressed pessimism on the future of the talks.
“We set ourselves the goal of nine months in which we will try to reach something with the Palestinians,” Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon said, adding, “We’ve been trying for 20 years since Oslo, and for over 120 years of the conflict.”
“The skepticism in the tone of my remarks is apparent, but we’ve decided to give it a chance,” he further added. Cabinet Minister Yaakov Peri of the centrist Yesh Atid party said time is running out and that both sides must push hard for a deal. “We won’t have a lot more chances to solve this conflict,” he told Israel Army radio.
However, hardliner Deputy Defence Minister Danny Danon from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party said Israelis would not accept a peace proposal made by the prime minister’s predecessor Ehud Olmert.
“Such an agreement will not win support, not just from me, but also from the Likud and, I think, most of the nation,” Danon said.
Israeli officials also dismissed as “overstated” speculation that fears of Israel being delegitimised in the world is what motivated Netanyahu to return to the table.
At a speech in June to the American Jewish Committee, Kerry had warned that the “insidious campaign to delegitimize Israel will only gain steam” if the talks fail. A senior official said Netanyahu believes that a Palestinian state is in Israel’s interest because of demographic reasons, in order to keep Israel, a Jewish democracy, and to fend off attempts to delegitimise it. The Israeli team to today’s talks will be represented by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Netanyahu’s personal envoy Yitzhak Molcho, with the Palestinians represented by chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat and senior negotiator Muhammad Shtayyeh. (Agencies)