BICOM

Israel’s lead negotiator, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, met yesterday in Jerusalem with her Palestinian counterpart Saeb Erekat in a meeting convened by US special envoy Martin Indyk.

The meeting took place just a day after Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas applied for membership of 15 international conventions and bodies, effectively scuppering a three-way deal over Palestinian prisoners and the extension of peace talks which had appeared near completion. No details of the meeting were released, but it appears the parties were trying to find a way to revive the deal. US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Hard said, “There is a chance to move this process forward.” The Palestinian decision to send the 15 letters of application has further complicated an already complex negotiation, with Israel wanting the applications frozen.

Speaking before the meeting in Tel Aviv, Livni criticised the Palestinian unilateral action, saying “The Palestinian move to turn to the UN harms Palestinian interests … If they want a state, they need to know that this will come only through negotiations.”Her comments were echoed by US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, who called the Palestinian move “tremendously destructive” to peace efforts. However, Livni also reiterated her resolve to forge a peace deal, adding,  “We repeat and pledge that we will continue to fight for peace,” declaring “it is forbidden to give up” on peace.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Israel had done all it could to broker an agreement. In order to secure PA consent to extend peace talks, Israel apparently offered to release a further 400 Palestinian prisoners in addition to a release scheduled for last week, which would have included Arab citizens of Israel. The deal also reportedly included Israeli agreement to restrictions over construction in the West Bank. Lieberman said the “ball is in their [the Palestinians’] court.”