Washington, September 13: The US envoy to the Middle East has made another visit to Israel to arrange the first meeting between Palestinians and the new Israeli leadership.
Washington expects the meeting to take place on the sidelines of the upcoming UN General Assembly, which will open on Sept 15.
Talks between Palestinians and Israelis have been suspended since Israel’s current right-wing government came to power.
Extremist policies pursued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have halted the Middle East negotiations.
The developments comes as Palestinian sources say Israel is working on a new settlement plan that is equal to the grab of nearly 140-thousand acres of Arab land near Jerusalem (al-Quds).
Despite the widespread international condemnations and an apparent US opposition against Tel Aviv’s settlement activities, the Israeli government has also authorized construction of hundreds of new housing units in the occupied territories of the West Bank.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in all of the West Bank including East Jerusalem to be illegal and a major obstacle on the way to permanent peace in the Middle East.
Israeli settlement expansion will top the agenda during Mitchell’s separate talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, the VOA reported.
The new Israeli leadership has not yet agreed to give an unconditional recognition to the concept of an independent Palestinian state.
—–Agencies