Israel outlines position on borders at Amman talks

JERUSALEM (JWN and agencies)—Israel for the first time presented its basic terms on borders with a future Palestinian state at Wednesday’s session of preliminary peace talks in Amman.

The policy statement, delivered by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s envoy, Yitzhak Molcho, was delivered in time for the January 26 deadline set by the Quartet (US, UN, EU, and Russia) at the United Nations in September.

Officials told Haaretz Molcho outlined basic principles to chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, but without maps or other documentation. Erekat asked for clarifications, which Molcho agreed to provide them within days.

It was understood that another meeting would be held, at which Molcho would present Israel’s position on security arrangements, as requested by the Quartet.

Before Wednesday’s session—the fifth—Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said there had been no progress in the talks. After the session, Palestinian officials were quoted as saying that there had been no breakthrough and Abbas would consult with Arab countries about continuing the talks.

A PLO source told Reuters that Israel’s proposals for borders and security would create “a Palestinian state made up of a wall and settlements.” He accused Molcho of “killing the two-state solution” and said Israel’s solution is a fenced-off territory of cantons that would preserve most Jewish settlements.

According to the Palestinian source, Israel’s solution is to “preserve the social and economic fabric of all communities, Jewish or Palestinian, but this does not include Jerusalem and the Jordan valley, and includes almost all [Jewish] settlements.”

An Israeli source quoted by The Jerusalem Post noted that Netanyahu had declared, in a speech to the US Congress, that not all Jewish settlements “will be on our side of the border” with a future Palestinian state.

“We think it is very important that these talks continue. They are only at a preliminary stage, but they contain potential and obviously in less than a month it would have been illogical to talk about a breakthrough,” he said.

“But in many ways the talks are progressing better than expected and it would indeed be a pity to bring about a premature ending of this process.”

The European Community shares this view, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel telling Netanyahu in a phone conversation on Thursday that she is very worried that the talks will be broken off.

“She called on the Israeli Prime Minister to do all he could from his side so that the current process could continue,” a statement from Merkel’s office said. “In this context, she informed Netanyahu about Palestinian President Abbas’s visit to Berlin last week. She said she had also called on Abbas not to let the current talks come to an end,” the statement said.

In the US, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Thursday the talks had been helpful for both sides. “They have clarified some issues. There are some things that they need to work on at home on both sides. And that perhaps a small pause, and then to come back with some fresh ideas will be helpful,” she said.