BICOM

President Shimon Peres has been holding talks with senior Palestinian Authority officials in recent weeks, as part of an attempt to restart negotiations between the PA and Israel, according to a report in the Haaretz newspaper. The talks, according to the report, are held in complete coordination with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the Haaretz report, Peres and senior PA official Saeb Erekat this week went over maps of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in an attempt to find a mutually agreeable formula to restart negotiations that would bypass the dispute over whether or not the borders of 4 June 1967 formed the basis for the talks. Neither the President’s Office nor the Palestinian Authority have commented on the report. However, Peres hinted at contacts of this nature in a recent meeting with Arabic-language reporters.