The Palestinian Authority is very close to agreeing to direct talks with Israel and is likely to give a definitive go-ahead perhaps as early as Sunday, according to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
The EU High Representative for foreign affairs and security made the comments in a letter to European foreign ministers ahead of their informal meeting after the summer break, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas "has requested a few more days for final consultations with Arab partners as well as with the Fatah and PLO executive bodies," Ashton wrote, and "should be in a position to give a definitive answer by Sunday or early next week."
Ashton, who speaks for the European Union as a member of the international Quartet seeking to negotiate a permanent, peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict alongside the United States, the United Nations and Russia, said direct talks could begin "later in August."
That would follow a statement from the Quartet "early next week," she said, one that would "reaffirm" their call on March 19 for Israel to freeze all settlement activity in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Abbas had indicated he could go to direct talks, provided they were based on the March statement.
The Palestinians and Israelis have not held direct negotiations since Israel's operation against Hamas-ruled Gaza in December 2008-January 2009, but since May have engaged in indirect "proximity" talks with US envoy George Mitchell as mediator.
Ashton’s letter comes as Israel's partial 10-month "freeze" on settlement construction in the West Bank is coming to a close on 26 September.
In the letter, Ashton said the Quartet initiative "should help President Abbas rally enough support, both at home and abroad, to engage in direct talks."