BICOM

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem yesterday with acting US Middle East Envoy David Hale, and top White House Middle East Adviser Dennis Ross. The US officials travelled to Ramallah after the meeting, where they met with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. The meetings were focused on restarting currently stalled talks between Israelis and Palestinians. The US officials are promoting the recommencement of talks based on the guidelines laid down by President Barack Obama in his speech of 19 May. According to these, talks would attempt to reach a solution on the issue of borders based on the 1967 lines, with agreed land swaps. This formula is not accepted by Israel. The Israeli government is calling for talks to begin without pre-conditions. The US is hoping to find a formula acceptable to both sides to restart talks in the near future. It is hoped that this will induce the Palestinian side to withdraw plans to seek approval at the UN General Assembly in September for a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is also scheduled to arrive in Israel tomorrow, as part of a larger visit to the region.