BICOM

Representatives of the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority are set to meet today in the Jordanian capital of Amman. Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh will be hosting the meeting, which is intended to launch the long-frozen negotiations between the sides. Senior prime ministerial aide Yitzhak Molcho will represent Israel, while Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat will represent the PA. Representatives of the Quartet (the U.S., EU, U.N. and Russia) will also be in attendance and will take part in the first part of the meeting. The second part will involve only Molcho, Erekat and Judeh. The meeting will take place ahead of a 26 January Quartet deadline for the resumption of direct negotiations.

“The upcoming meeting is part of serious and continuous efforts to reach a common ground to resume the direct negotiations,” Jordanian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammed Kayed said. However, the Amman meeting does not itself constitute a formal resumption of negotiations between the parties.

Israeli officials quoted this morning in Haaretz said there was very little chance that direct negotiations would resume in the immediate future. Rather, the Palestinian Authority agreed to the meeting as a result of major international pressure. For its part, the PA is set to continue its efforts to put Israel under international pressure in the coming year. Among the measures the Palestinians are expected to push for is the urging of the UN Security Council to pass a resolution condemning settlement construction and imposing sanctions on Israel if it refuses to end building in settlements. The PA may also make approaches towards the International Criminal Court to try Israel for alleged war crimes related to Operation Cast Lead.