Published on August 21, 2010
Palestinians and Israel have accepted an invitation by the US and Middle East quartet to restart direct talks on September 2 in a step toward forging a peace deal within 12 months to end Middle East conflict.
In a statement, the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has announced its agreement to resume negotiations on the basis of the statement of the international Quartet while Israeli Prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu accepted the invitation and said reaching a deal would be possible but difficult.
Earlier, the quartet of Middle East peace negotiators – the UN, Russia, the EU and the US, invited Israeli and Palestinian leaders to attend direct talks in Washington on 2nd September.
The US secretary of state Hillary Clinton confirmed in a statement that the talks would be attended by the Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas. The Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and the quartet representative Tony Blair will also be present for parts of the negotiations.
Clinton said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with President Barack Obama on 1st Sept before formally resuming direct negotiations on the following day at the State Department in Washington.
Gaza Strip ruling Hamas movement has however rebuffed the U.S. call to launch direct peace talks.