Abbas to meet Bush in September: Palestinians AUG 26,08
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert next week and US President George W. Bush in September, a top official said onTuesday. President Abbas will hold talks with Prime Minister Olmert next week and he will meet President Bush in New York in September, senior Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qorei told AFP after talks between Abbas and visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.Qorei did not provide exact dates but the meeting between Abbas and Bush was expected to take place on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly meeting.Israel and the Palestinians have been holding regular negotiations aimed at resolving their decades-old conflict since peace talks were formally relaunched in November at an international conference hosted by Bush.
The talks have made little visible progress however, with the two sides remaining deeply divided on the core issues of the conflict, including final borders, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
Rice sees peace progress despite settlement growth by Lachlan Carmichael
AUG 26,08
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that Israeli settlements were not helpful to the peace process but joined Israeli and Palestinian leaders in saying talks are making progress. On her latest trip to the region aimed at encouraging the US-backed peace talks, Rice met Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and the heads of the negotiating teams in a brief two-day visit.I think it's no secret, and I've said it to my Israeli counterparts, that I don't think the settlement activity is helpful to the process, Rice said after meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem.What we need now are steps that enhance confidence between the parties, and anything that undermines confidence between the parties ought to be avoided.
But she insisted that despite the difficulties, progress was being made in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.I believe that the parties have succeeded in moving their understandings of what needs to be achieved and indeed their positions somewhat closer together over this period of time, she said.So, we will continue to press ahead to get agreement, so that we know what is in Israel and what is in Palestine. That is ultimately the goal.Hours after Rice's arrival an Israeli watchdog group released a report saying that the construction of housing for Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank had nearly doubled since last year.In the report published on Tuesday, the Peace Now group said the Israeli housing ministry initiated 433 new housing units during the period of January to May 2008, compared to just 240 units during the period January to May 2007.The number of tenders for construction in the settlements has meanwhile increased by 550 percent, from 417 housing units in the period surveyed compared to 65 units in the same period last year.In Arab east Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel following the 1967 Six Day War, the number of tenders has increased by a factor of 38, the group said, from just 46 units in 2007 to 1,761 in 2008.Israel considers the entire Holy City its eternal, undivided capital, a claim not recognised by the international community or the Palestinians, who have demanded east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
The international community considers all settlement projects in the Israeli-occupied territories to be illegal.Abbas said after his meeting with Rice in the West Bank city of Ramallah that he had again raised the issue of settlements, which still continue and which without a doubt are the main obstacle in the political process.He nevertheless insisted that the two sides were making progress, saying just because we have not yet succeeded does not mean we have failed.Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev stressed that the Israeli premier will continue efforts to reach a historic agreement by the end of the Bush administration.Livni for her part played down the impact of the settlement activity.I would like to suggest to my partners not to use it as an excuse and I know they are not using it as an excuse but I understand their frustration sometimes, she said at the joint news conference with Rice. There were some small activities but they will not influence the ability (to negotiate), nor the future borders of the Palestinian state, Livni said. Rice's 24-hour visit which concluded on Tuesday afternoon was her first since Olmert said on July 30 that he will resign to battle corruption charges after his Kadima party chooses a new leader in September. Livni, who leads Israel's negotiating team with the Palestinians, is a front-runner to replace him, as is Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz, a hawkish former general. A senior Palestinian official, meanwhile announced that Abbas will meet Olmert next week before meeting US President George W. Bush in September.
Rice: peace deal still possible before Bush leaves By MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writer AUG 26,08
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that God willing there could still be a Mideast peace agreement before the end of President Bush's term in office. God willing and with the good will of the parties and the tireless work of the parties, we have a good chance of succeeding, Rice said at a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Rice was wrapping up a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in hopes of furthering the announced goal of brokering a Mideast peace deal by year's end, but she has offered few specific signs of progress.I've had a series of very good discussions here, Rice said.She repeated the U.S. position that Israel should stop expanding settlements on disputed territory. Settlement activity is not conducive to creating an environment for negotiations, yet negotiations go on, she said.Abbas said the settlements are undoubtedly a main obstacle in the road of the peace process.We reject all the settlement activities in principle because they contradict with the agreements and the roadmap plan and the objectives of the U.S.-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Md. last November, Abbas said.He added, We have discussed the importance of reaching complete and comprehensive solutions, not partial solutions, Abbas said.
On Monday, Rice said she was heartened that talks were serious and intensive. The sides had hoped to reach a final peace deal before Bush leaves office in January, but have acknowledged that target is unlikely to be met.But Rice held out hope Tuesday that such an agreement was possible.We still have a number of months before us to work toward the Annapolis goal and we're going to do precisely that, Rice said.
Rice is on her seventh trip to the region since talks were relaunched. While Israel and the Palestinians say all key issues have been under discussion, there has been no word on agreements or breakthroughs.The talks have been complicated by the impending departure of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has said he will step down to battle a corruption investigation, and the Hamas militant group's control of the Gaza Strip.Israel says it cannot carry out any deal until Abbas regains control of Gaza from Hamas, which violently seized power in the coastal area in June 2007. It also says the moderate government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which rules from the West Bank, is not doing enough against militants operating in areas under his control.The Palestinians, meanwhile, have complained about continued Israeli construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem — areas the Palestinians claim for a future independent state. Israel captured both areas in the 1967 Mideast war.Under the road map, the international peace plan that serves as the basis of the peace talks, Israel promised to halt all settlement construction. But it has continued to build thousands of homes in areas it hopes to retain under a final peace deal.The dovish Israeli group Peace Now released a report Tuesday saying that while talking peace with the Palestinians, Israel's government has dramatically ratcheted up its construction in the West Bank.Some 2,600 new homes for Israelis are currently under construction in the West Bank — an increase of 80 percent over last year, Peace Now said. In east Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as the capital of their future state, the number of new government bids for construction has increased from 46 in 2007 to 1,761 so far this year, the report said. Palestinians say the construction undermines the talks and prejudices a final peace deal. But Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Israel's chief negotiator, said the construction would not affect the peace talks. In the end of the day, the role of the leaders is to try to find a way to live in peace in the future, and not to let any kind of noises that relate to the situation on the ground these days to enter the negotiation room, she said. Earlier, Rice met alone with Olmert for an hour, discussing the peace process and other regional issues, said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev. Israel's government will continue our efforts to reach a historic agreement before the end of the Bush administration, Regev said.
Israeli settlement growth nearly doubles since 2007 Tue Aug 26, 5:32 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - The construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, seen as a major barrier to US-backed peace talks, has nearly doubled since 2007, an Israeli watchdog said Tuesday. In a report published during the visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice the settlement watchdog Peace Now said settlement building in the first half of 2008 was double that in the same period last year.Construction in the settlements has increased by a factor of 1.8 by comparison to the same period last year, the group said, citing government statistics.The housing ministry initiated 433 new housing units during the period of January to May 2008, compared to just 240 units during the period January to May 2007, it said.Another 125 structures, including 30 permanent houses, have been built in the so-called outposts -- wildcat settlements considered illegal under Israel law which Israel is committed to removing as part of the peace process.The report said around 1,000 new buildings are currently being constructed in settlements in the occupied West Bank which will include around 2,600 housing units.The number of tenders for construction in the settlements has meanwhile increased by 550 percent, from 417 housing units in the period surveyed compared to 65 units in the same period last year.
In mostly Arab east Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel following the 1967 Six Day War, the number of tenders has increased by a factor of 38, the group said, from just 46 units in 2007 to 1,761 in 2008.Israel considers the entire Holy City its eternal, undivided capital, a claim not recognised by the international community or the Palestinians, who have demanded east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.The international community considers all Israeli settlements in the occupied territories to be illegal, and the Palestinians view the settlements as the main obstacle to reaching a full peace agreement.There is a deliberate policy aimed at making a separation with the Palestinians impossible and this will risk forcing us to live in a single bi-national state, Yariv Oppenheimer, the head of Peace Now, told AFP.The findings were released as Rice was holding meetings with senior Israeli and Palestinian officials in a bid to encourage peace talks formally relaunched in November at a conference hosted by US President George W. Bush.They have vowed to try to reach a full agreement by the time Bush leaves office in January 2009 but the talks have made little visible progress and have been marred by violence in the Gaza Strip and Israeli settlement expansions.
Israel shuts Gaza crossings because of rocket fire Tue Aug 26, 2:18 AM ET
JERUSALEM - Israel has ordered the Gaza Strip's border crossings closed after militants violated a cease-fire by launching two rockets. Israel has increased the trickle of humanitarian aid going into Gaza since a cease-fire took hold with Gaza's Hamas rulers in June.But Tuesday's order by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak follows a policy of closing the crossings briefly in response to each truce violation by militants.The Israeli military says Gaza gunmen launched two rockets Monday evening, causing no damage or casualties. The military says Monday's fire brought to 46 the number of rockets launched by militants since the truce began.
No militant group claimed responsibility for the rockets. Hamas itself has been holding its fire in line with the truce.
Israel releases 198 Palestinian prisoners as Rice visits By Mohammed Assadi
Mon Aug 25, 2:15 PM ET
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Israel freed nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners to a hero's welcome in the West Bank on Monday, seeking to bolster President Mahmoud Abbas as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began a new peace mission. Making her seventh visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories this year in the long-shot U.S. effort to secure a peace agreement by December, Rice welcomed the release as something that matters a lot to the Palestinians.She said she still aimed for a peace deal before President George W. Bush leaves office in January but played down chances of any partial accord in time for the September U.N. General Assembly.It's extremely important just to keep making forward progress rather than trying prematurely to come to some set of conclusions, Rice told reporters as she flew to Tel Aviv.We continue to have the same goal which is to reach agreement by the end of the year, Rice said. She added later Washington was not pressuring the sides to bridge the gaps, and acknowledged it would be hard to strike a deal this year.
Earlier, several thousand Palestinians, many of them waving flags of Abbas's Fatah faction, turned out at the Palestinian Authority compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah to welcome the 198 prisoners, including four women, released by Israel.
There is no doubt that we seek peace and we are trying to seek our goals -- and there won't be peace without the release of all prisoners, Abbas said at the celebration.Some 11,000 Palestinians are in Israeli prisons and securing their release is a highly emotive issue in Palestinian society, which regards them as symbols of resistance to occupation.The longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody, Said al-Atabeh, 57, was among those freed. This is a great joy for our mothers and our people but it remains a small step because we left behind us thousands of prisoners, Atabeh said.Atabeh was arrested in 1977 and sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of involvement in bombings that killed an Israeli woman and wounded dozens of people.It's not easy to release prisoners, especially prisoners that were involved directly in terrorist acts against innocent civilians, said Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
BUILDING CONFIDENCE
About half of the prisoners on a release list published by Israel were to have completed their sentences next year, but 43 had at least five more years to serve. Offences listed next to prisoners' names ranged from stone-throwing to shooting attacks.Regev said Israel was making a confidence-building gesture to Abbas that could boost Fatah after it lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas Islamists last year. The release, Regev said, could serve to strengthen the peace process.Few analysts believe Rice, who on Tuesday will see Olmert in Jerusalem, Abbas in Ramallah and hold a three-way meeting with their chief peace negotiators, can secure a major breakthrough.Progress towards a peace deal has been hampered by violence, Israeli settlement expansion and political uncertainty in Israel stemming from a corruption scandal involving Olmert.In remarks on Friday, Israel's chief negotiator, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, cautioned against any outside pressure to paper over differences or try to achieve a deal that would fall short of the comprehensive agreement that we want to reach.Livni is seen as the frontrunner in a Kadima party race to replace Olmert, undermined by the corruption scandal. He has said he would resign after his successor is chosen. Olmert could stay on for months as caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed, although many doubt that as a lame duck leader he would be able to put a peace deal in motion. Speaking after Rice met separately with Livni and Ahmed Qurie, the chief Palestinian negotiator, a U.S. official said the Bush administration would work methodically toward a peace deal rather than making a dramatic, last-minute push. We would not want to do that at the expense of losing the progress that is being made, the official, who asked not to be named, told reporters. (Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Tel Aviv, Writing by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Editing by Diana Abdallah)
Syria-Israel talks focused on border: Moualem By Khaled Yacoub Oweis
Mon Aug 25, 2:01 PM ET
DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel are focused on the thorny issue of how much Syrian territory is under Israeli occupation, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday. In the first official comment on the content of the talks, which began in May under Turkish mediation, Moualem said the two sides were seeking agreement on land Syria controlled before Israel occupied the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war.We feel that the two sides are serious about solving the lingering issues that are being discussed. Foremost is determination of the June 4, 1967 line, Moualem told reporters after meeting his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner.Nearly a decade of U.S.-supervised negotiations between Syria and Israel collapsed in 2000 over the extent of a proposed Israeli withdrawal from the Golan, a water-rich plateau.Syria argued then that it was in control before the 1967 war of parts of the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, on the edge of the Golan, and that these parts should be returned to Syria.Israel captured the whole eastern shore along with the surrounding plateau in the war. The shoreline has since receded.Moualem would not be drawn on the exact territorial lines Syria considers its borders. Control of the shoreline has been a major point of contention between the two sides, especially as Israel uses the lake as its main reservoir.The late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, father of the current president, seeking to prove the land belonged to Syria, told former U.S. President Bill Clinton he used to swim in the Sea of Galilee before 1967. He refused to sign a deal he considered fell short of liberating the whole of the Golan.
NEXT ROUND
President Bashar al-Assad, shaped by his father's struggle with the Jewish state, has said Israel must withdraw from every inch of the Golan.Israel, in turn, wants Syria to cut ties with its main adversaries -- the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.Assad said during a visit to Moscow last week that the next round of indirect talks with Israel, expected to begin on Wednesday, could prove crucial.Moualem said the talks, four rounds of which have been held in Turkey since May, would remain indirect for the time being.Unfortunately there has not been enough progress for the talks to become direct, he added.Syrian foreign policy has focused on the Golan since its forced withdrawal of troops from Lebanon in 2005 after 29 years. The talks with Israel have helped Syria start to re-engage with the West after years of isolation over its role in Lebanon.France's Kouchner said on Monday he was content that Syria would exchange ambassadors with Lebanon before the end of the year after Assad and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman made a joint announcement on opening diplomatic ties this month.France has led European efforts to persuade Damascus to establish normal sovereign relations with its smaller neighbor, including the first formal diplomatic ties since the two states were carved out of the old Ottoman Empire in 1920.(Editing by Catherine Evans)
U.N. troops calm Lebanon, but tensions remain By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent Mon Aug 25, 9:46 AM ET
SHAQRA, Lebanon (Reuters) - French soldiers take off their body armor but keep their FAMAS rifles slung over their backs before moving off on a leisurely foot patrol through this pro-Hezbollah Shi'ite Muslim village in south Lebanon. The troops, wearing the blue berets of U.N. peacekeepers, chat with shopkeepers in Shaqra, trying to win local friends without abandoning military muscle to deter would-be assailants.What I hope to do here is instill confidence, Lieutenant Colonel Marc Ollier, commander of the French contingent in the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), told Reuters.Without firing a shot in anger, U.N. troops have imparted a degree of stability that has enabled rebuilding and revival in a region wrecked by Israel's war with Hezbollah two years ago.The 13,000-strong force, whose mandate is up for renewal by the Security Council on Wednesday, says it has kept the area south of the Litani river free of any visible armed Hezbollah activity and helped the Lebanese army establish itself there.But the calm in UNIFIL's 2,500 square km (965 square mile) zone also owes much to decisions by Israel and its Shi'ite guerrilla foes not to renew hostilities which ceased on August 14, 2006 after a 34-day war seen by most Israelis as a failure.Tensions still simmer in a region festooned with yellow Hezbollah flags and posters of Imad Moughniyah, an undercover leader of the group assassinated in Syria in February -- Hezbollah has blamed Israel and promised earthshaking revenge.Many Lebanese reproach UNIFIL for failing to secure an Israeli pullout from the Lebanese side of the divided village of Ghajar or a halt to daily Israeli military overflights.
ARMS SMUGGLING
Israel chides the peacekeepers for not stopping weapons it says are flowing to Hezbollah guerrillas who might again shower northern Israel with rockets as they did during the 2006 war.I don't believe Hezbollah's weapons figure in Resolution 1701," said Ollier, citing the Security Council measure that expanded UNIFIL in 2006 and gave it tougher rules of engagement.The resolution speaks of keeping armed men and illicit weapons out of the UNIFIL zone. So we monitor that, but disarming an armed militia is not in 1701, Ollier added.UNIFIL has no mandate to interfere north of the Litani or control the border with Syria, the main transit route for Hezbollah weaponry. It does, however, patrol Lebanese waters.The French, with 13 Leclerc battle tanks and 1,400 troops, operate alongside Spanish and Italian units that have injected a strong European element into UNIFIL, while Germany has played a significant role in a U.N. naval force of about a dozen ships.Their political value outweighs their military prowess, according to former UNIFIL spokesman Timor Goksel.
The participation of some main European countries in UNIFIL gave this robust atmosphere, he said. It gives UNIFIL today much more political clout than the United Nations itself.They (Israel and Hezbollah) can all challenge the UN, but they are not going to challenge the French, the Germans, the Italians, the Spanish -- this is the strength of UNIFIL.Conversely, Goksel argued, if serious trouble did erupt, UNIFIL's diverse contingents would be unable to act together and could do nothing without Lebanon's consent under 1701. So far, no major crisis has tested UNIFIL's mettle. We've been able to restore peace and stability, said its deputy spokesman, Andrea Tenenti. We've been a huge deterrent for the restarting of any kind of hostilities. We haven't witnessed any rearming of armed elements here in the south.
TARGET FOR BOMBERS
Nevertheless, at least three bomb attacks have targeted UNIFIL since 2006, including one that killed six soldiers in the Spanish contingent last year -- the main suspects are Sunni Islamist militants inspired by al Qaeda, not Hezbollah. Such dangers complicate the task of Ollier and other UNIFIL commanders who must balance the safety of their troops against the importance of cultivating good relations with local people. I have to protect my soldiers and fulfill my mission, Ollier said. That is the big difficulty for e here.Excessive security measures can doom any peacekeeping mission, especially one in such a sensitive, suspicious region.
"When you go behind your walls, your barbed wire and just move in aggressive mechanized convoys, you lose contact with the people, Goksel said. In the long run that's very dangerous because in south Lebanon, that contact is your best security.
UNIFIL troops stage more than 400 patrols a day, sometimes jointly with the Lebanese army -- which deployed up to 12,000 troops in the south after the war, but then shrank the number to 6,500 to tackle violence elsewhere, a security source said. To bolster local support, the peacekeepers also carry out humanitarian work ranging from cluster bomb clearance and small reconstruction projects to medical, dental and veterinary care. In the Shi'ite village of Qabrikha, Staff Sergeant Herve Fleury, head of a French civil-military affairs team, delivered a final check to the mayor for repair of a water cistern, now marked out with a volleyball court for the dry summer months. This reservoir will benefit 150 families who grow olives and tobacco, responded the mayor, a surgeon named Hassan Hijazi. It means a lot for Qabrikha, the economy and sport.Hijazi said UNIFIL had achieved 80 percent success with local people and there was no enmity, noting that French troops will play volleyball against Qabrikha youngsters this week. Then, reflecting Hezbollah's line, he reiterated complaints about UNIFIL's efficacy. People don't understand why they can't stop the Israeli violations by land, sea and air, he said. The Lebanese government, which has requested renewal of the peacekeepers' mandate, shares this frustration, but Tenenti, the deputy spokesman, said UNIFIL could only use diplomatic means. The U.N. troops have at least created a buffer in south Lebanon that all sides have found useful since the 2006 war. UNIFIL is managing the conflict, preventing violence from continuing, Goksel said. That's important, but the solution is not going to come from UNIFIL. Someone has to work on a solution because all the causes of the conflict are still there.(Editing by Sami Aboudi)
Hezbollah chief threatens to destroy Israel Sun Aug 24, 2:24 PM ET
BEIRUT (AFP) - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Sunday to destroy Israel if it carries out threats to hit Lebanon should the government give greater legitimacy to the Shiite militant group. If (a war) were to happen as they are threatening, our victory this time will be decisive, unquestionable and final, Nasrallah said in a televised address marking the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Hezbollah-sponsored Al-Mahdi Scouts.A number of Israeli leaders have issued warnings to Lebanon in recent days after the formation of a national unity government in which the Hezbollah-led opposition has 11 ministries and the power of veto over cabinet decisions.The moment the Lebanese government confers legitimacy on Hezbollah, it must understand that the entire Lebanese state will be a target in the same way that all of Israel is a target for Hezbollah, Environment Minister Gideon Ezra said on Wednesday.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made similar remarks the previous day, warning that Israel would fight a far more devastating campaign than in the 2006 war if Hezbollah led the government.Nasrallah branded these statements as scare tactics and psychological warfare on the Lebanese, saying they were an internal necessity in Israel.There are currently elections within Kadima (Israel's ruling political party) and each candidate is trying to portray himself as the leader and the saviour of Israel, he said.Nasrallah said Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak had threatened to wage a land operation with five Israeli military units.The five units will be destroyed in our mountains and valleys and homes and villages, Nasrallah said.And with it will be destroyed your country that is violating our sacred land.Israel and Hezbollah fought a devastating 34-day war in the summer of 2006 which left over 1,200Lebanese dead, mostly civilians and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers killed.
The Israeli bombardment of Lebanon at the time centered mostly on Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon and the southern suburb of Beirut, but the military did hit civilian infrastructure, including the main international airport, roads, bridges and a power station.Israel has always said that such instances were exceptions to an attack that was solely focused on Hezbollah and was initially aimed only at recovering two Israeli soldiers seized in a deadly cross-border raid on July 12, 2006 which sparked the conflict.
Israel denies Olmert to visit Egypt next week Sat Aug 23, 11:31 AM ET
CAIRO (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is expected to meet President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt on Tuesday, an Egyptian official said on Saturday, but a spokesman for the premier later denied the report. An Egyptian presidency source said that Olmert will arrive Tuesday in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria for talks with the president to discuss regional issues and bilateral relations.But Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev said that the premier did not plan to visit Egypt next week.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak was nevertheless scheduled to travel to Alexandria on Tuesday to meet Mubarak and Egyptian security chief Omar Suleiman.
The talks are expected to focus on the fragile two-month old ceasefire in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and Egyptian-mediated efforts to secure a deal to release an Israeli servicemen held by Hamas for more than two years in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians jailed in Israel.
