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Israel, Palestinians respond to proposed summit in Russia

Xinhua, August 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli and Palestinian officials have contacted with their Russian and Egyptian counterparts regarding the proposed summit in Russia to resume the peace talks, the Israeli Ynet news website reported Sunday.

The website said that it received confirmation from both Israeli and Palestinian officials that contact has been reinitiated regarding the prospect of a future high-level meeting in Moscow in October, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Israeli officials were quoted by Ynet as saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the matter with Putin during a phone call last week, yet added it was "too early" to determine whether in fact the meeting would materialize.

Ynet had previously covered the news of a potential summit meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.

Currently, it reported that the summit will include the same individuals, in addition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who would host the summit in Moscow.

No comment was received from the Prime Minister's Office.

As for the Palestinian side, the website reported that officials expressed their "willingness" to attend, if Israel accepts to freeze its Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as Abbas demanded, in addition to setting a to the end of the occupation.

The report comes a week after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said that Putin is willing to host Israeli and Palestinian leaders for direct peace talks, according to the Egyptian state-run Ahram newspaper.

"President Putin told me he is ready to host the Palestinian president and the Israeli prime minister for direct peace talks in Moscow," Sisi was quoted as saying.

The last round of US-mediated peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians ended abruptly with a stalemate in April 2014.

Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, home to millions of Palestinians, in the 1967 Mideast War and Palestinians want to establish a Palestinian state in these territories.

There has been growing international pressure on both sides to resume the peace talks, following 11 months of intense violence, throughout which 34 Israelis died as well as over 220 Palestinians.

In May, the Egyptian president urged both sides to take historic steps towards peace, with Egypt and other Arab countries playing a vital role in the process.

Israel welcomed Sisi's comments, and officials stated they were encouragement by his statement.

In addition, officials voiced preference for Sisi's regional peace efforts initiative over the French peace initiative, which includes an international conference in order to resume the peace talks in Paris later this year. Endit