A child from Bilin village looks over the settlement of Modiin Illit which is being
built on the village's lands. (MaanImages/Charlotte de Bellabre, File)
built on the village's lands. (MaanImages/Charlotte de Bellabre, File)
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israeli and PLO envoys will hold their third round of face-to-face meetings this year on Saturday in what diplomats hope might lead to the resumption of full peace talks, sources on each side said Friday.
The exploratory discussions began on Jan. 3 and followed a long break in negotiations after President Mahmoud Abbas suspended talks 15 months ago over Israel's expansion of Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Abbas on Thursday played down prospects of any breakthrough, telling members of his Fatah party that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not put forward any new proposals.
"The words that we heard in Netanyahu's residence (in 2010) are the same words he is repeating now, nothing new," Abbas said, adding that he had told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the apparent lack of progress.
Abbas is due to travel to London, Berlin and Moscow over the next 10 days to discuss the situation.
The "Quartet" of international peace mediators - the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - sought in October to revive the peace talks, which broke down weeks after they began in 2010.
The Quartet wants the two sides to state their positions on the borders and security arrangements of a future "two-state solution" by Jan. 26 to help open the door to a resumption of full negotiations.
US officials have signaled that the Jan. 26 target date for the two sides to exchange proposals could slide.
An internal European Union report, leaked to reporters this week, warned that the chances of creating a workable Palestinian state alongside Israel were being eroded by constant Jewish settlement building and restrictions on Palestinian economic activity and demographic growth, particularly in the 62 percent of the West Bank designated Area C.
"The window for the two-state solution is rapidly closing," said the report, put together by EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah.
The negotiators are holding their meetings in Amman under the auspices of Jordan's King Abdullah, who will visit US President Barack Obama next week to review developments.
The PLO entered the closed-door talks despite opposition from factions, who point to the failure of decades of negotiations with Israel alongside the expansion of illegal settlements.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has called the meetings a "grave political mistake," and urged President Mahmoud Abbas to withdraw from talks to focus on the fraying reconciliation deal between political rivals Fatah and Hamas.
"Such meetings poison the atmosphere for reconciliation efforts," senior PFLP leader Kayid Al-Ghoul said in a statement.
Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal said his party rejected negotiations, but that talks would not affect reconciliation with Abbas' Fatah party.
"Negotiations with Israel in the wake of previous bitter experiences and the clear Israeli position of refusing to recognize Palestinian rights -- this is a failed path that will not lead to anything," Mashaal added, speaking after the first round of talks.
Ma'an staff in Bethlehem contributed to this report
The exploratory discussions began on Jan. 3 and followed a long break in negotiations after President Mahmoud Abbas suspended talks 15 months ago over Israel's expansion of Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Abbas on Thursday played down prospects of any breakthrough, telling members of his Fatah party that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not put forward any new proposals.
"The words that we heard in Netanyahu's residence (in 2010) are the same words he is repeating now, nothing new," Abbas said, adding that he had told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the apparent lack of progress.
Abbas is due to travel to London, Berlin and Moscow over the next 10 days to discuss the situation.
The "Quartet" of international peace mediators - the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - sought in October to revive the peace talks, which broke down weeks after they began in 2010.
The Quartet wants the two sides to state their positions on the borders and security arrangements of a future "two-state solution" by Jan. 26 to help open the door to a resumption of full negotiations.
US officials have signaled that the Jan. 26 target date for the two sides to exchange proposals could slide.
An internal European Union report, leaked to reporters this week, warned that the chances of creating a workable Palestinian state alongside Israel were being eroded by constant Jewish settlement building and restrictions on Palestinian economic activity and demographic growth, particularly in the 62 percent of the West Bank designated Area C.
"The window for the two-state solution is rapidly closing," said the report, put together by EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah.
The negotiators are holding their meetings in Amman under the auspices of Jordan's King Abdullah, who will visit US President Barack Obama next week to review developments.
The PLO entered the closed-door talks despite opposition from factions, who point to the failure of decades of negotiations with Israel alongside the expansion of illegal settlements.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has called the meetings a "grave political mistake," and urged President Mahmoud Abbas to withdraw from talks to focus on the fraying reconciliation deal between political rivals Fatah and Hamas.
"Such meetings poison the atmosphere for reconciliation efforts," senior PFLP leader Kayid Al-Ghoul said in a statement.
Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal said his party rejected negotiations, but that talks would not affect reconciliation with Abbas' Fatah party.
"Negotiations with Israel in the wake of previous bitter experiences and the clear Israeli position of refusing to recognize Palestinian rights -- this is a failed path that will not lead to anything," Mashaal added, speaking after the first round of talks.
Ma'an staff in Bethlehem contributed to this report
Maan News Agency
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