BICOM

Israel’s Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who will head an Israeli delegation in any future peace talks, flew to Washington yesterday and met with US Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss the potential of an adjusted Arab League peace initiative announced earlier this week.

Livni travelled to Washington with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s envoy Yitzchak Molcho for talks with Kerry, which the US State Department described as “focused on ways to promote negotiations.” Since taking office, Kerry has made a concerted effort to kick-start direct negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Earlier this week, he brokered an announcement by the Arab League which endorsed mutual land swaps to help delineate the final borders in a comprehensive peace deal. It is viewed as a softening of conditions set out in a 2002 Arab League initiative which would bring about full Arab recognition of Israel.

Following a meeting later in the day with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Livni said that Kerry “is completely involved, determined” to re-start Israeli-Palestinian talks and “We need to find a way to do so, and we’re working on it.” Livni commented that “the message coming from the Arab League is important,” especially with so much uncertainty in the region. She also emphasised that the Arab League announcement demonstrated that “the Arab peace initiative is not something which is take it or leave it, but it is negotiable.” Summarising, Livni called it “good news.”

It is understood that Molcho relayed Prime Minister Netanyahu’s reservations about the Arab League announcement to Kerry, especially the language stipulating only “minor” land swaps, which Netanyahu fears may preclude major settlement blocs in the West Bank. Meanwhile, at a meeting with the Swiss Foreign Minister yesterday, Netanyahu reiterated his intention to submit any future peace agreement with the Palestinians to a national referendum.