Direct talks between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumed at the latter's private residence on Wednesday. The US administration has made strenuous efforts to facilitate the resumption of talks, particularly regarding the issue of Israeli settlement construction on Palestinian land. This is the third face-to-face meeting between the two leaders within the context of direct negotiations. They met for the first round of direct talks on 2 September in Washington; the second round was held in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh on 14 September. In advance of the latest meeting, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held separate discussions with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Netanyahu and Abbas. “The two-state solution guarantees Israel's existence as a Jewish democratic state,” Clinton said. “I believe both leaders are serious about reaching an agreement." She went on to point out that the two leaders had begun talking about crucial issues that could not be resolved in the absence of “face-to-face" meetings. Peres, for his part, said the second round of direct talks in Sharm al-Sheikh had achieved more than what had been expected, while Netanyahu spokesman Ofir Gendelman described the meetings as “good.” US daily the New York Times opined that the holding of the second round of talks in Sharm al-Sheikh served to illustrate Egypt's enthusiasm for the peace process. Washington hopes to convince the two parties to reach an agreement that would save the talks from collapsing following the 26 September expiry of a ten-month moratorium on Israeli settlement-building activity. Such an agreement should allow both parties to determine the borders of a future Palestinian state and Israel, while enabling the latter to build settlements in areas under its sovereignty. Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the US had suggested a "vertical expansion" of existing settlements, going on to note that both Abbas and Netanyahu were scheduled to meet with US President Barack Obama some time next week. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
