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US eyes chance for Mid-East peace US eyes chance for Mid-East peace
(about 3 hours later)
US Vice-President Joe Biden has said there is a "moment of real opportunity" for peace between the Palestinians and Israel during a visit to the region.US Vice-President Joe Biden has said there is a "moment of real opportunity" for peace between the Palestinians and Israel during a visit to the region.
Mr Biden said he hoped the agreement to begin indirect talks would be a vehicle by which both sides could "allay that layer of mistrust that has built up". Mr Biden welcomed the two sides' recent agreement to start indirect talks, saying the US would back those who "took risks for peace".
He made the comments during meetings with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem. He said the US was committed to Israeli security and determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Hours before Mr Biden's arrival, Israel enraged Palestinians by approving 112 new homes in the occupied West Bank. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed US attempts to boost sanctions on Iran.
Palestinian officials accused Israel of trying to undermine the talks. Mr Biden is the most senior member of the administration of US President Barack Obama to visit Jerusalem.
'Provocations' At a joint news conference after talks with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Biden he said there was "no space" between the US and Israel on Israel's security.
At the start of the highest-level visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories yet by an Obama administration official, Mr Biden said the agreement to hold four months of indirect, so-called "proximity talks" was a chance to revive the peace process. 'Exception'
"I hope it is a vehicle, a vehicle by which we can begin to allay that layer of mistrust that has built up in the last several years," he told reporters before meeting Israeli President Shimon Peres. Mr Biden said the cornerstone of Washington's relationship with Israel was an "absolute, total, unvarnished" commitment to its security.
He called on Iran to "meet its international obligations" over its nuclear programme. Tehran says it is purely for civilian use.
ANALYSIS Roger HardyMiddle East analyst The Obama administration is trying again. Its first attempt to revive the peace process ended in tears. Its insistence on a complete Israeli settlement freeze sparked a row with the Netanyahu government - and it eventually had to back off.ANALYSIS Roger HardyMiddle East analyst The Obama administration is trying again. Its first attempt to revive the peace process ended in tears. Its insistence on a complete Israeli settlement freeze sparked a row with the Netanyahu government - and it eventually had to back off.
Now it has set a far more modest goal - indirect talks mediated by the US envoy, George Mitchell. Arab states have backed the move, but with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.Now it has set a far more modest goal - indirect talks mediated by the US envoy, George Mitchell. Arab states have backed the move, but with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
It is hard to find anyone who thinks success is very likely. Israel believes it is strong enough to resist pressure to compromise - and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fears any major concession will undermine his already weak position.It is hard to find anyone who thinks success is very likely. Israel believes it is strong enough to resist pressure to compromise - and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fears any major concession will undermine his already weak position.
"I think we are at a moment of real opportunity, and I think that the interests of the Israeli and Palestinian people, if everybody stops and takes a deep breath, are actually more in line than they are opposites," he added. Mr Biden said the best long-term guarantee for Israel's security was a comprehensive peace between Israel and its neighbours.
During the proximity talks, negotiating teams will meet separately with the US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who will shuttle between them. Mr Netanyahu said Israel would continue to support the US push for stronger sanctions against Iran, and that he was pleased its efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were "beginning to bear fruit".
However, correspondents say no-one on either side is talking with any great optimism about what the indirect talks might achieve. He said the goal of negotiations was a peace deal that included Palestinian recognition of the "permanence and legitimacy of the Jewish state of Israel".
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to hold direct negotiations with the Israeli government for more than a year because of its refusal to put a complete stop to building Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Mr Biden said he hoped the indirect talks would lead to direct talks, through which a two-state solution with "Israel and Palestine side by side" could be reached.
In November, Israel announced a 10-month suspension of new building in settlements in the West Bank, under heavy US pressure. In recent days Palestinians have agreed to "proximity talks", in which US Middle East envoy George Mitchell is expected shuttle between the Palestinians in Ramallah and the Israelis in Jerusalem.
But the government does not consider areas within the Jerusalem municipality to be settlements and the restrictions do not apply. The Palestinians refuse to hold face-to-face negotiations with the Israelis unless they halt all settlement building in the occupied West Bank, where the Palestinians want their future state.
Hours before Mr Biden's arrival, the Israeli defence ministry infuriated the Palestinian Authority by approving the construction of 112 new housing units in the West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit. Israel has announced a 10-month suspension of new building in the West Bank, but the curbs exclude East Jerusalem, where the Palestinians want their capital.
Israel says the building in Beitar Illit is 'an exception' class="" href="/2/hi/middle_east/8273995.stm">In the shadow of a settlement class="" href="/2/hi/middle_east/8268543.stm">An Israeli settlement in close-up class="" href="/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8261702.stm">Middle East 'haunted by the past' Hours before Mr Biden's arrival on Monday, Israel enraged Palestinians by approving 112 new homes in Beitar Illit in the West Bank.
Palestinian officials accused Israel of trying to undermine the talks.
It said the units had been approved before the start of the 10-month moratorium, and that they were an "exception", because of safety and infrastructure issues.It said the units had been approved before the start of the 10-month moratorium, and that they were an "exception", because of safety and infrastructure issues.
The chief Palestinian negotiator said President Abbas had told Mr Mitchell that the move put the indirect talks at risk. Caution urged
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas told Mr Mitchell that the move put the indirect talks at risk, the chief Palestinian negotiator said.
"We cannot tolerate that each time we have discussions on peace-making the Israeli government tenders more settlements, more incursions, more provocations," Saeb Erekat told the AFP news agency."We cannot tolerate that each time we have discussions on peace-making the Israeli government tenders more settlements, more incursions, more provocations," Saeb Erekat told the AFP news agency.
Israel says the building in Beitar Illit is 'an exception' In the shadow of a settlement An Israeli settlement in close-up Middle East 'haunted by the past'
The US said the move did not violate Israel's limited settlement freeze, but was "the kind of thing both sides need to be cautious of".The US said the move did not violate Israel's limited settlement freeze, but was "the kind of thing both sides need to be cautious of".
Close to 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They are considered illegal under international law, which Israel disputes. Close to 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They are considered illegal under international law, but Israel disputes this.
Iran sanctions BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen in Jerusalem says the US does not want Israel to take military action against Iran, which is much talked about in the region.
Mr Biden later discussed the peace process and Iran's nuclear programme with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And correspondents say there is little optimism in the region about what the indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks might achieve.
The BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen in Jerusalem says the US does not want Israel to take military action against Iran, which is much talked about there. Periods of direct negotiations over the last two decades have failed to reach agreement.
After the talks, Mr Biden stressed that the cornerstone of Washington's relationship with Israel was an "absolute, total, unvarnished" commitment to its security, and reiterated its determination to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons. Mr Netanyahu's right-leaning government has taken a harder line stance on final status issues than that of the previous administration.
We have to be persistent and purposeful to make sure that we get to those direct negotiations that will enable us to resolve this conflict Benjamin NetanyahuIsraeli Prime Minister He has ruled out dividing Jerusalem, wants the Palestinians to recognise Israel as a Jewish state, and said he intends to maintain a presence along the eastern border of a future Palestinian state.
"Progress occurs in the Middle East when everyone knows there is simply no space between the United States and Israel," he told a news conference.
The vice-president said he was pleased that the Israeli and the Palestinian governments had agreed to launch indirect talks.
"We hope that these talks will lead and they must lead eventually to the negotiations of direct discussions," he added.
But he warned: "An historic peace is going to require both parties to make some historically bold commitments."
Mr Netanyahu said his security priorities were ensuring Iran did not build nuclear weapons and establishing peace with the Palestinians and its Arab neighbours.
"I very much appreciate the efforts of President Obama and the American government to lead the international community to place tough sanctions on Iran," he said.
"The stronger those sanctions are, the more likely it is that the Iranian regime will have to chose between advancing its nuclear programme, and advancing the future of its own permanence."
Mr Netanyahu praised US patience in attempting to resume the peace process, which he said had been difficult.
"But I am pleased that these efforts are beginning to bear fruit, and we have to be persistent and purposeful to make sure that we get to those direct negotiations that will enable us to resolve this conflict."
On Wednesday, Mr Biden will meet Palestinian leaders in the West Bank before travelling to Jordan for talks with King Abdullah.On Wednesday, Mr Biden will meet Palestinian leaders in the West Bank before travelling to Jordan for talks with King Abdullah.