Tel Aviv (dpa) – A faint glimmer of hope has emerged from the first face-to-face Israeli-Palestinian meeting after nearly 16 months of stalemate. The parties have agreed to hold a “series of meetings” in Jordan, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said. An official close to the talks confirmed to dpa Wednesday that the sides could meet again as early as next week. The announcement by Judeh came as a surprise. Both sides had voiced pessimism ahead of the talks, repeating their entrenched positions. The Israelis insist on negotiations without preconditions while the Palestinians say Israel should stop construction in its West Bank settlements before talks can resume. As a way out of the impasse, not all the upcoming talks will be made public and announced in advance. Progress would be reported exclusively by Jordan, in coordination with the parties, Judeh said. Partial secrecy would ease internal pressure on both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Both leaders face opposition to the talks from hardliners at home. Tuesday's meeting was a last-ditch effort to get the talks moving before a January 26 deadline, after which the Palestinians had warned they would step up their diplomatic campaign for recognition by the United Nations. Both parties should submit their positions on the two major sticking points of borders and security by the end of the month, under a proposal by the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators – the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia. The proposal also sets the end of 2012 as a deadline for a peace agreement. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat submitted his proposals on border and security to his Israeli counterpart Yitzhak Molcho, who said Israel would soon give the Palestinians its own stance on those issues. The Palestinians are likely to pull out of the talks if Israel's proposals on border and security do not meet their expectations. Both Abbas and Netanyahu, who heads a right-leaning coalition government, must take into account upcoming elections. Disillusioned by years of failed peace talks, Israelis could elect a parliament even more dominated by right-wing parties in an election slated after the end of Netanayahu's term in February 2013. Making too many concessions to the Palestinians could lead Netanyahu's right-wing government partners to quit the coalition and prompt an early election. Abbas faces opposition to the talks from the Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which dismissed Tuesday's talks as a “farce, comedy and waste of time.” Abbas's Fatah party and Hamas are negotiating the implementation of a unity deal under which parliamentary and presidential elections would be held this year. Opinion polls give Abbas a steady lead over Hamas. At present however, the gaps between the parties remain too wide to bridge, as Judeh made clear by cautioning against raised expectations. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Hecym Tags: Israel, Negotiations, Peace Talks Section: Latest News, Palestine
