US Envoy: Talks Moving Toward Serious Discussions

Israel, despite pressure from U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday, has denied an extension of the 10-month moratorium scheduled to be lifted on September 26.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did state that according to a reported interpreter of Abbas, in the welcoming ceremony during Clinton’s visit to Ramallah in the West Bank, Abbas stated:

“We all know there is no alternative to peace through negotiations, so we have no alternative other than to continue these efforts.”

Although it is unclear whether Abbas was suggesting that Palestinians would remain committed to peace negotiations in spite of Israel’s inaction on extending the construction freeze, the statement does show a change from Abbas’s previous threat to pull out of peace talks if construction limits were no upheld passed the moratorium end date.

Abbas also reportedly thanked the Obama administration for its commitment to finding a peace deal that worked for both sides before Clinton’s reiteration of her commitment to resolve the issues hindering the peace process.

According to media reports, U.S. MIdeast envoy George Mitchell commented regarding the progress of the negotiations beginning from Tuesday in Egypt and concluding Wednesday in Jerusalem.

"We believe that these negotiations, having begun and having moved very quickly to serious and substantive discussions, should continue," Mitchell said. "And that has been and remains our policy. We recognize that there are serious issues and challenges that are highly sensitive politically for both parties and for both leaders. We have and do encourage them to engage directly on those issues, and we join with them to share our views on how best to deal with them."

Clinton plans on attending lunch with Jordanian King Abdullah, while Mitchell plans on traveling to Syria on Thursday for talks with senior government officials regarding a separate Syria-Israel peace negotiation.

Consultations scheduled next week will determine when the next round of negotiations will take place at the leaders’ level.

On the ground, opposing Gaza militants have expressed their violent disapproval of the ongoing peace efforts on the border recently. These expressions of violence include mortar attacks and rocket fire landing in Southern Israeli communities initiating Israeli airstrike. Israel then attacked two Gaza targets overnight which the military described to be weapon storage facilities according to Haaretz reports. No casualties have been reported.

Washington has set a one-year timeframe for a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians leading to the development of a two-state solution.