adminIsraeli and Palestinian negotiators have reconvened US-brokered peace talks in Jerusalem amid low expectations, and dogged by plans for more Jewish settler homes on occupied land.An Israeli official, who declined to be named and who was briefed on Wednesday’s talks that were held at an undisclosed Jerusalem location, described them as serious and said the parties agreed to meet again soon.
No details were given on the subject matter of the talks. The parties have agreed to refrain from revealing information in order to raise the chances for success, officials said. On Wednesday, Israel freed 26 Palestinians jailed between 1985 and 2001, many for deadly attacks on Israelis.
Their release, coupled with President Mahmoud Abbas’s dropping of a demand for a settlement freeze before talks could begin, helped to pave the way towards negotiations. The resumption of negotiations, after a first round in Washington last month that ended a three-year standoff over Jewish settlement building, followed Palestinian celebrations overnight. — AP
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