TEL AVIV – US Middle East envoy George Mitchell met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday in a second round of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. No details of the discussions, which followed a meeting on Wednesday between Mitchell and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, were released. Though neither side is optimistic about making a breakthrough soon, both Israel and the Palestinians seem to be taking steps to build trust. Government sources said Netanyahu was examining favourably a proposal to build, on occupied land Israel had originally allocated for Jewish settlement, a road linking the West Bank city of Ramallah to a new Palestinian town under construction. Abbas broke with tradition on Monday by failing to give a speech on the day on which Palestinians mourn the creation of Israel, which they call the "nakba", the Arabic for catastrophe. Analysts said Abbas wanted to avoid an occasion on which he would be expected to condemn Israel in strong language. Palestinians have agreed to up to four months of indirect "proximity talks", but have made direct negotiations conditional on a halt to all Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territory Israel captured in the 1967 war. The proximity talks began formally during Mitchell's previous visit to the region two weeks ago. The White House has said it will hold each side accountable for any actions taken that could undermine the negotiations, the first in 18 months. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of the state they intend to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its capital, a claim that is not recognised internationally.
