Israel decides to support Quartet plan for renewed talks with Palestinians

[Jefferson23]

Mideast Quartet proposal calls for renewal of direct talks within a month, with end of 2012 as deadline for final agreement.
By Avi Issacharoff, Natasha Mozgovaya, Shlomo Shamir and Nir Hasson

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the eight senior cabinet members decided on Tuesday night to support the Quartet's initiative for renewed talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The plan, presented Friday at UN Headquarters in New York by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, calls for Israel and the Palestinian Authority to renew direct talks within a month, to present proposals on borders and security within three months, and to reach a final agreement by the end of 2012.



Snip* Nuland said the United States considers the Israeli move "counterproductive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties."

When asked how the U.S. could get the Palestinians to return to dialogue after such a statement, Nuland responded that negotiations are difficult and there are issues on both sides, but that Israel had shown flexibility at least in terms of its response to the Quartet's call to return to talks.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-decides-to-support-quartet-plan-for-renewed-talks-with-palestinians-1.387091


** Amazing how they find a silver lining to highlight for Bibi.

[Jefferson23]

1. Threats keep coming: According to sources at UN Headquarters

the United States already has a majority of seven members on the Security Council that will thwart the Palestinian bid for full UN membership.

The Palestinian application, which the Security Council discussed unofficially behind closed doors for the first time Monday, is be discussed publicly today and once again, unofficially, on Friday.

European Union representatives have told the Palestinians that any unilateral move on their part will put European aid to the Palestinian Authority at risk, according to senior UN officials in New York.