BICOM

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is set to arrive in Israel on Tuesday for talks, a day before Israeli and Palestinian officials are expected to meet for a fifth time in Amman.

Ashton’s visit is part of an international effort to encourage the two sides to return to the negotiating table, in line with the Quartet statement from September. It follows the recent commencement of exploratory talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Amman. “I will continue to make every effort to push the peace talks and encourage the parties in the path towards a negotiated solution,” Ashton said. She continued, “I’ll be looking for positive signs from both sides that they are prepared to turn this progress into real gestures and negotiations. Time is of the essence. Developments in the region make peace in the Middle East even more urgent and necessary.”

The Amman talks on Wednesday are expected to go a long way towards determining whether this channel of direct communications will continue. The Palestinians have said that 26 January is the deadline by which Israel, according to a framework laid out by the Quartet in September, must present its comprehensive proposals on border and security issues. Israel has said the deadline for presenting those proposals was not until early March.

Ashton is scheduled to arrive Tuesday afternoon and meet first with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak and then with Israeli President Shimon Peres. From Jerusalem, she will travel to Ramallah for a meeting with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. On Wednesday, she will spend most of the day in the Gaza Strip, and then in the evening meet in Jerusalem with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and PM Netanyahu. She is also expected to meet PA President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.

In related news, the EU on Monday welcomed the efforts by Jordan to facilitate direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians as part of the Quartet process. “A bold and decisive demonstration of political leadership is needed from both sides to encourage the momentum and ensure real progress,” said EU foreign ministers in a statement. “Against the backdrop of worrying developments on the ground in 2011, particularly with regard to settlements, the EU reaffirms its commitment to a two-state solution. The viability of the two-state solution must be preserved,” stressed the statement.