BICOM

Representatives of the Quartet (US, EU, UN and Russia) are set to hold separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials in Jerusalem later this month, according to a statement yesterday by US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner. Toner said that the meetings will take place on 26 October. They are part of an attempt by the Quartet to restart direct negotiations between the sides.

The Quartet published a timetable for a return to negotiations and their completion last month. The timetable envisaged the renewal of talks within a month, presenting of proposals on borders and security within three months, and a final agreement by the end of 2012. The Palestinian Authority, however, has conditioned a return to direct negotiations on Israel’s agreement to a renewed freeze on construction in settlements and acceptance of the 1967 lines as the basis for negotiations. Israel prefers a renewal of talks without preconditions, and is unwilling to implement a new freeze on settlement construction, which it argues is not a barrier to the peace process.