Israeli envoys head to US talks

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/8280224.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Israeli envoys are set to travel to Washington for talks on President Barack Obama's plan to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

The representatives are due to meet the US Middle East envoy George Mitchell on Wednesday.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat will meet Mr Mitchell separately on Friday.

The talks are aimed at breathing new life into the peace process, which has foundered over the demand that Israel totally freeze settlement-building.

They follow a meeting last week between the US President, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Israeli delegation heading to Washington consists of Yitzhak Molcho, a senior aide to the Israeli Prime Minister, and Michael Herzog, the Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak's chief of staff.

Roadmap

Last week's three-way talks appeared to make little headway on the obstacles between the two sides - Israel's rejection of US and Palestinian demands that it put a total stop to settlements.

Disagreements over the settlements issue have blocked all attempts to restart peace talks since they were suspended last December.

Mr Netanyahu has previously offered a temporary construction freeze for several months, but not in East Jerusalem or in cases where homes had already been approved.

He argues that the "natural growth" of settler families must be accommodated.

Mr Abbas has repeatedly insisted that all construction in settlements be frozen.

He has called on Israel to "respect the roadmap to peace" and withdraw to what he called its internationally recognised boundaries before the 1967 war.

The roadmap is a US-backed 2003 peace initiative, under which Israel agreed to stop settlement building and Palestinians to clamp down on militant activity.