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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| 'Talks will unite Israel, Jordan against Hamas' |
| 2012-01-01 |
| Prime minister's bureau confirms Israel's chief negotiator Yitzhak Molcho to attend Quartet meeting in Amman. Sources in Jerusalem say 'Israel, Jordan share common interests against Hamas, Iran' Hours after Ynet first revealed that Israel and the Palestinians are returning to the negotiations table, the prime minister's bureau on Sunday evening announced that Attorney Yitzhak Molcho, Israel's chief negotiator to talks with the Palestinians, will travel on Tuesday to Amman and attend the Quartet meeting. Earlier on Sunday, Ynet learned that advanced negotiations with Jordanian mediation have been launched ahead of a direct meeting between Israeli and Palestinian representatives. "We thank the King of Jordan and the Jordanian foreign minister for initiating this move in accordance with the Quartet's outline," said Head of the National Information Directorate Yoaz Hendel. Sources privy to the details said the meeting between Molcho, and his Palestinian counterpart Saeb Erekat is scheduled to take place in Amman within the next 48 hours under the auspices of the Hashemite Kingdom and the Mideast peace Quartet (United States, Russia, European Union and the United Nations). Meanwhile, sources in Jerusalem told Ynet that the meeting in Jordan was made possible especially due to "the Palestinians' willingness to waive preconditions to the negotiations." "Israel is allowing Jordan to mediate because they want King Abdullah in the picture," one of the sources noted, adding that "Jordan and Israel have common strategic interests, even if the Jordanians sometimes acts differently in public." The source said that renewing the talks, under the auspices of the Quartet and the Hashemite Kingdom, also helps present a united front against Hamas, amid ongoing reconciliation talks between Palestinian factions. "The talks are also aimed against Hamas, which the Jordanian King can't stand, and also to strengthen ties between the two countries," said the source, adding that Jerusalem and Amman also share common interests against Iran. Another Jerusalem official noted that the Palestinians agreed to the Quartet's outline in order to relieve some of the international pressure that was mounted on them. "They refused to hold direct talks up until now, but now they need the Europeans and the Americans," said the source. |
| Posted by:tipper |