BICOM

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday asked US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to press Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to continue exploratory talks with Israel that began in Amman last month. According to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu told Clinton, “Israel is interested in continuous talks with the Palestinians while preserving the security interests of Israeli citizens.”

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu conveyed a similar message in meetings with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Quartet envoy Tony Blair. Ban told Netanyahu that Israel must make confidence-building gestures toward the Palestinians in order for them to continue talks. According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu said he would consider such steps if he could be sure the PA would not break off the talks again in a few weeks. Maariv reports this morning that confidence-building measures planned by Netanyahu include increasing Palestinian civilian and security control in parts of the West Bank and allowing construction materials into Gaza for the building of 1000 residential units.

Later yesterday, the UN Secretary General and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle met with PA President Abbas in Ramallah. During his press conference with Ban, Abbas was unenthusiastic about the chances of continuing talks, saying Israel had not presented “any encouraging proposal that we could advance with.” The official Palestinian Wafa news agency quoted Abbas as telling Germany’s FM Westerwelle that he would only return to talks once Israel had committed on the issue of borders and initiating another settlement freeze.

Abbas will meet with Arab League foreign ministers in the coming days to discuss the talks with Israel.

In unconnected news, seven rockets fell in open fields in the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council in southern Israel last night, triggering a series of Red Alert rocket alarms. There were no injuries or damages reported.