Middle East battle to keep talks alive

Financial Times:

The clash over Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, territory Palestinians want as part of their future state, is threatening to break off the US-backed negotiations that were launched in Washington one month ago. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has so far rejected the call by the Palestinians – as well as by the US and the European Union – to continue a 10-month partial settlement freeze that ended last week.

Last week, in a sign of the concern with which the administration views a possible collapse in the talks – a centrepiece of its foreign policy – it emerged that Washington had offered Israel a package of inducements if it continued the settlement freeze for two months.

These included a US promise to veto UN initiatives on Arab-Israeli peace for the year of the talks, a longer-lasting Israeli presence in the Jordan valley, and  more defence transfers in the event of an agreement, according to David Makovsky, an expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy with close ties to administration policy-making on the topic. The US would also ask for no further extension after the 60 days had expired.

The US offer to veto UN initiatives leaves open the possibility that Washington could decide not to block UN moves if settlements resume and talks collapse.

The final decision on whether the Palestinians will remain in the talks is expected to be taken by Mr Abbas, who is scheduled to discuss the Palestinian stance at an Arab League meeting in Libya on Friday.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a Palestinian negotiator, said on Saturday: “The resumption of talks requires tangible steps, the first of them a freeze on settlements. The Palestinian leadership holds Israel responsible for obstructing the negotiations.”