BICOM

Martin Indyk, the United States’ representative for Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations, will reportedly arrive in Israel on Sunday ahead of the resumption of talks.

Citing sources in Jerusalem, the Times of Israel says that Indyk will meet with representatives of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Foreign Ministry, and members of Justice Minister Tzipi Livni’s negotiating team. However, the Prime Minister’s Office would not confirm the reports of Indyk’s impending visit. Indyk, who is a former two-time US Ambassador to Israel, was chosen by US Secretary of State John Kerry to be Washington’s point man for renewed peace talks which are set to begin again in earnest following a three-year hiatus.

According to a report in Israel Hayom yesterday, Israeli and Palestinian delegations are set to meet next Tuesday in Jerusalem and that this meeting is likely to be followed by further talks a week later in the Palestinian Authority (PA) controlled city of Jericho. Reports also claim that next Tuesday, Israel will release the first of four groups of Palestinian prisoners, which Israel’s cabinet last month agreed to free in order to help pave the way for talks to begin.  According to the Times of Israel, a ministerial committee comprised of Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Science Minister Yaakov Peri and Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch will decide which prisoners will be released and will oversee the process.

Meanwhile, a delegation of thirty six United States Democrat Congressmen yesterday pressed senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat over incitement against Israel in the PA education system. US Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer said “Erekat talked about the necessity to live together with mutual respect.” When asked by Hoyer whether this applied to the PA school curriculum, Erekat “indicated that they had not done so perfectly, but he believes they are working on that.”