Washington, July 29: US Mideast envoy George Mitchell and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have discussed Israel’s settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The two met for almost three hours on Tuesday in Jerusalem (al-Quds) to discuss the thorny issue of illegal settlements, but with little progress.
The US has been pressing Israel to stop the expansion of illegal settlements in occupied Palestine, which has stalled peace negotiations.
The Palestinians have said time and again that until there is a halt in the settlement building, reviving the mired peace negotiations will be next to impossible.
Mitchell is on a whistle-stop tour of the region in which he has held talks with leaders of Syria, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority over the past four days.
However, he has refused to meet with the leaders of the democratically elected Hamas government, in compliance with Israeli wishes.
“We look forward to continuing our discussions to reach a point that we can all move forward to reach a comprehensive peace,” Mitchell told reporters after meeting Netanyahu.
“President (Barack) Obama’s vision is of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East which includes peace between Israel and the Palestinians, between Syria and Israel, and between Israel and Lebanon,” the former senator said.
The hawkish Israeli premier’s refusal to heed Washington’s repeated demands that Israel halt all settlement activity in the occupied territories has led to a rare public row that has raised tensions between the two close allies to levels not seen in years.
Nevertheless, US military and diplomatic support for Israel remains steadfast.
—-Agencies