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Israeli PM Netanyahu agrees to resume talks with Palestine

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-27 00:06

LONDON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed here on Wednesday to launch negotiations with the Palestinians to move towards a regional peace agreement.

After four hours of talks with visiting US Middle East envoy George Mitchell here, Netanyahu accepted a proposal made by Mitchell to resume negotiations with the Palestinians.

They agreed that all sides must take practical steps to advance to peace.

"We are making headway," Netanyahu said. "My government has taken steps both in words and deeds to move forward."

Palestinian officials said President Mahmoud Abbas was open to a meeting with Netanyahu at the United Nations next month, which would be the first between the two leaders since Netanyahu took office in March.

However, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in Ramallah on Tuesday that a de facto state would be created in two years "without waiting for the results of the peace negotiations with Israel."

Statehood would exist on the territories that Israel captured in the 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as its capital, Fayyad said.

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On Tuesday, Netanyahu and his British counterpart Gordon Brown discussed the issue of Jewish settlements and Iran's nuclear program.

Brown said he was "more optimistic" about the prospects for peace in the Middle East, but considered the Jewish settlements on occupied land as a barrier to future negotiations.

The peace talks have been stalled since Israel launched a military offensive in the Gaza Strip in December. The Palestinian Authority has repeatedly said peace talks with Israel can not resume until Netanyahu halts settlement activities and accepts the two-State solution.

Over the past few months, the US administration has been leading the international community in urging Israel to totally freeze settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to help revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

The Israeli prime minister started his four-day European tour on Monday. He is also expected to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday.