BICOM

The US State Department yesterday announced that peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) will resume next Wednesday in Jerusalem, with a further round of talks scheduled in the PA-controlled city of Jericho.

The confirmation comes after Israeli and Palestinian delegations met in Washington at the end of July and agreed a formula for negotiations to re-start following a three year hiatus. US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, “Negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians will be resuming August 14 in Jerusalem and will be followed by a meeting in Jericho.” She also confirmed that US special envoy Martin Indyk and aide to US Secretary of State Frank Lowenstein will travel to the region to help facilitate the talks. However, Psaki played down the chances of next week’s talks achieving any significant progress, commenting “Secretary [of State John] Kerry does not expect to make any announcements in the aftermath of this round of talks.”

It is expected that before next week’s talks, Israel will release the first of four groups of Palestinian prisoners, which Israel’s cabinet last month agreed to free in order to help pave the way for talks to begin.

Psaki also addressed the decision yesterday by Israel’s Higher Planning Council to give preliminary approval for the construction of more than eight hundred homes in West Bank settlements. She said, “We are speaking to the government of Israel and making our concerns known… The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity.” However, she emphasised that Kerry “believes both the negotiating teams are at the table in good faith.” Guy Inbar, spokesman for Israel’s Civil Administration in the West Bank explained that approval for construction “is a lengthy process” and that yesterday’s preliminary decision was just one of many to be made, including permission needed from the government, before any construction can begin.