TEL AVIV - The US Mideast envoy returned to the region and Israel's prime minister huddled with Egypt's president Monday in anticipation of the first Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in more than a year. The indirect, US-mediated talks mark the first significant step forward in the Obama administration's attempts to break a stubborn deadlock in Mideast peacemaking. But the two sides remained far apart, with Israelis insisting on security guarantees and the Palestinians questioning whether the hard-line Israeli leader could ever concede what is required for a deal. White House envoy George Mitchell, the former US senator who brokered Northern Ireland's peace accord, has been trying to relaunch peace talks since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009. But his efforts have hit repeated stumbling blocks, including an Israeli decision in March to build 1,600 homes for Jews in east Jerusalem, the section of the city claimed by the Palestinians. The announcement prompted the Palestinians to call off the start of the indirect negotiations and strained Israel's relations with the US. After weeks of prodding by Mitchell, Israel and the Palestinians agreed last week to start their indirect talks. Mitchell plans to meet with the sides separately this week to get the negotiations under way. He arrived in Israel late Monday without commenting publicly. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, flew to Egypt on Monday to brief President Hosni Mubarak on the peace effort. Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, often serves as a bridge between Israel and the broader Arab world. Over the weekend, the 22-member Arab League endorsed the Palestinians' decision to resume indirect talks with Israel, giving the Palestinians political cover to proceed with talks that have been greeted with widespread skepticism by the public. The Palestinians want to an establish a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip ��" areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians say they are eager for a deal and have said they would even accept a US-dictated solution. Netanyahu last year reluctantly endorsed the idea of Palestinian independence, but he has tacked on conditions the Palestinians deem unacceptable, such as retaining an Israeli presence in the West Bank and keeping east Jerusalem. Israeli officials say Netanyahu will oversee the initial negotiations with Mitchell and will focus his efforts on security issues. Senior Israeli officials said Netanyahu, who is reluctant to make concessions to the Palestinians, agreed to the talks in part because of international pressure on Israel. They said Netanyahu will seek security guarantees not only from the Palestinians, but from the international community as well. Netanyahu is concerned about Iran's rising influence in the area and the possibility that Hamas militants, who now control Gaza, could also overtake the West Bank as well. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal high-level deliberations.
