World Jewish News

George Mitchell and Binyamin Netanyahu (photo by gdb.rferl.org)

PM, Mitchell discuss 'new ideas'

Following his early morning meeting with US envoy George Mitchell, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday that during their discussions, "new and interesting ideas" were raised for the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians.

Speaking during the weekly cabinet meeting, the prime minister said if the Palestinians agree to the ideas, it will advance a process which could lead to peace in the region.

He also said that the Israeli government had great appreciation for Mitchell and US President Barack Obama for their continuing efforts to renew peace talks.

Earlier Sunday, two days after Mitchell's apparent failure to lure Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas back to peace talks, Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said the Palestinians had come up with "an invention of their own" in not agreeing to negotiations but demanding concessions - which, he stressed, Israel would make no more of.

Speaking to Israel Radio, Shalom added that the Palestinians knew that they would also be ultimately required to make concessions and were using the US as pressure for preconditions.

"The time has come to clearly state that there will not be any more concessions for the resumption of negotiations," he said, adding that the ball was now firmly in the Palestinian court.

JPost.com