Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., February 24, 2008 Adar1 18, 5768 | | Israel Time: 19:54 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

PA chief negotiator Ahmed Quriea and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. (Daniel Bar On/Jini) Last update - 19:53 24/02/2008 Israel, Palestinians to start talks on civilian issues next week By Reuters Tags: Palestinians, Abu Ala  After months of delay, Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Sunday set up teams of government experts to try to jumpstart U.S.-backed peace talks that critics say have yet to yield any progress. "The teams will focus on a range of specific issues, from security to trade and water use, that would form part of any agreement on a Palestinian state," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel. Israel's chief negotiator, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and her Palestinian counterpart, former prime minister Ahmed Quriea (Abu Ala), will continue to deal with the core issues of borders and the future of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. Advertisement Mekel said the experts, numbering approximately 10 from each side and drawn from various government ministries, would meet separately from Livni and Qureia. The Israeli team comprises director-generals from the ministries of finance, foreign affairs, environment, and justice. The Palestinian negotiating team includes five former PA ministers, including Sufian Abu Zeida, former Palestinian civil affairs minister Hisham Abdel Razik, and Saeb Erekat, former chief negotiator of the PLO. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat declined to comment specifically on the teams except to say that "we bring whatever experts are needed." The negotiations, which U.S. President George W. Bush hopes will yield an agreement on Palestinian statehood before he leaves office next January, have been stalled by a series of disputes, including over Jewish settlement activity near Jerusalem. The first final-status peace talks in seven years were launched by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a U.S.-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Maryland in November, but the sides remain divided on what any statehood agreement should entail. Olmert has said the goal was an understanding on "basic principles" for a Palestinian state, with implementation only once Abbas reins in militants in the West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip as called for under the long-stalled "road map" peace plan. Abbas, whose authority has been limited to the West Bank since Hamas Islamists seized Gaza in June, wants a full-fledged agreement allowing him to declare statehood. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, France's foreign minister and top United Nations officials warned in recent weeks that the pace of negotiations was too slow to reach a statehood deal before the end of the year. Addressing an economic conference in Saudi Arabia Sunday, Fayyad appealed for Arab support. He also put some blame onIsrael for the faiure of the Abbas regime to show a strong presence on the ground in the West Bank. "Israel continues to raid our cities, undermining the credibility of our forces in the eyes of the population and demoralizing them," Fayyad's office quoted him as saying. Related articles: Pushing the buttons PM: Borders easiest issue to solve ANALYSIS: To have successful talks, PA delegates lower hopes Bookmark to del.icio.us   Holocaust row U.K. Tory chief draws fire for calling school visits to Auschwitz a gimmick. 5 Stops in Galilee Rock hares, peach orchards, a taste of the past, and walking the Jesus trail.   1.   Abbas the moderate. 17:33  |  Jean Van Daem 24/02/08   2.   Is Abbas moderation the issue? 19:17  |  Dan Chazan 24/02/08

Today Online IDF braces for mass march on Gaza border Responses: 189 Gideon Levy: The Jerusalem issue is easy - half for Jews, half for Palestinians Responses: 60 For IDF brigade, 'Hebron is like Wild West and army is the law' Responses: 47 Study: Palestinian suicide bombers 'not mentally unstable' Responses: 99 Neo-Nazi turns Haredi after discovering his Jewish roots Responses: 44 Rosner's Domain Iran Could Have Enough Uranium for a Bomb by Year's End (WTR) Poll: Is it time for Israel to end the blockade in Gaza? What America wants from an operation in Gaza Guests: Jewish women don't want to be shut out U.S. victims of Palestinian terror await gov't stance on compensation More Headlines 19:26 Israel girds for 40,000-strong Gazan human chain 19:16 PM: We absolutely won't fortify every building in Gaza area 19:34 Barak rejects PM call to ease rules of engagement at border 17:55 Olmert pulls for Beaufort, says 'it's time Israel won an Oscar' 19:53 Israel, Palestinians to start talks on civilian issues next week 12:23 Israeli Americans vote Clinton, but Obama wins global primary 18:42 Rebel Catholics: Pope caved on prayer to convert Jews 17:22 U.K. paper prints photo of Anne Frank's childhood love interest 19:10 Iranian official: More UN sanctions will be 'costly' for West 13:59 IDF soldier accidentally shot by fellow soldier, suffers serious wounds 19:51 Thousands of Hamas loyalists turn preacher's funeral into W. Bank protest Previous Editions Select Day 22 feb 21 feb 20 feb 19 feb 18 feb 17 feb 15 feb 14 feb 13 feb 12 feb 11 feb 10 feb

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