US Deputy Secretary of State Jacob J. Lew arrived on Wednesday for a four-day visit to Israel and the West Bank that will include talks on trade, technology, and humanitarian aid, the State Department said.
While in the West Bank, the State Department said Lew, who served as budget director under former President Bill Clinton, plans to “focus on how U.S. assistance can best support the efforts of President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad to build the institutions of a future state, to develop the Palestinian economy and civil society institutions, and other elements integral to US efforts to help achieve a two-state solution and comprehensive peace in the region.”
Also on Thursday President Mahmoud Abbas met with a senior aide to Middle East envoy George Mitchell, Reuters news agency reported.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat confirmed the scheduled meeting with aide David Hale had taken place in Ramallah. Neither the PA nor the US had any comment on the subject of the meeting.
Abbas is seeking clarification of a US offer to mediate in “proximity talks” whereby Mitchell would shuttle in between the two sides.
Abbas refuses to engage in direct negotiations with Israel until it complies with past agreements to freeze expansion of West Bank settlements on Palestinian land. Mitchell has tried in vain for a year to bring the two sides to the negotiating table.