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US envoy Mitchell to meet Palestinian leaders US envoy Mitchell meets Palestinian leaders
(about 3 hours later)
US Middle East envoy George Mitchell is due to meet Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, a day after a marathon four-hour session with Israel's prime minister. US Middle East envoy George Mitchell has held talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, as part of renewed US peace efforts.
He reportedly stressed "unshakeable" US commitment to Israeli security, to calm Israeli fear about US pressure over its settlements and a Palestinian state. Mr Abbas's top negotiator said the meeting had been "positive" and called on both sides to stick to commitments made under the 2003 "roadmap".
He will meet Palestinian Authority leaders in Ramallah in the West Bank. On Monday Mr Mitchell met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu will give a major foreign policy speech on Sunday. He has not backed a two-state solution. He reiterated calls for a two-state solution, which the Israeli leader has refused to endorse.
The Palestinian Authority says it will not return to negotiations with Israel unless it freezes class="inlineText" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/6669545.stm">Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank and openly backs a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr Netanyahu is scheduled to give a major foreign-policy speech on Sunday.
Under the staged "roadmap" peace plan, Israel agreed to freeze settlement activity and remove unofficial settlements known as outposts.
The Palestinians agreed to dismantle militant organisations and carry out reforms.
The Obama Administration has made clear its expectation that both parties implement their obligations Saeb ErekatPalestinian negotiator Israeli outposters vow to stay
"The Obama Administration has made clear... its expectation that both parties implement their obligations," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.
He said the emphasis was a "litmus test of fairness and balance in America's approach to Middle East peace".
While the Palestinians had made "significant progress" on their obligations, "Israel has failed to implement any" of its commitments, he said.
Mr Mitchell is visiting in the wake of US President Barack Obama's keynote speech in Cairo last week.Mr Mitchell is visiting in the wake of US President Barack Obama's keynote speech in Cairo last week.
We come here to talk not as adversaries in disagreement but as friends in discussion George Mitchell US envoy to Middle East Israeli outposters vow to stay
Mr Obama called for a "new beginning" between Muslims and the US and described the Palestinians' situation under in exile in neighbouring countries and under Israeli occupation as "intolerable".Mr Obama called for a "new beginning" between Muslims and the US and described the Palestinians' situation under in exile in neighbouring countries and under Israeli occupation as "intolerable".
Amid fears among some Israelis that the new US administration is taking an unusually harsh line towards Israel, Mr Mitchell said he came to talk "not as adversaries in disagreement but as friends in discussion".
He said the US was striving for "a Palestinian state, side by side in peace and security with the Jewish state of Israel".
Mr Netanyahu has refused to endorse a peace process aimed at the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state, but has called on the Palestinians to recognise Israel as a Jewish state.
His office described Monday's meeting with Mr Mitchell as "friendly" and "positive".
Ambitious goalAmbitious goal
Earlier this week Mr Mitchell said the US was striving for "a Palestinian state, side by side in peace and security with the Jewish state of Israel".
Amid speculation that the prime minister may back a two-state solution on Sunday, centre-left Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak warned that failure to reach such an agreement would result either in a state that was no longer Jewish, or an "apartheid regime".Amid speculation that the prime minister may back a two-state solution on Sunday, centre-left Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak warned that failure to reach such an agreement would result either in a state that was no longer Jewish, or an "apartheid regime".
Benjamin Netanyahu is understood to back Palestinian self-rule in an entity which has no army and does not control its own airspace or borders.Benjamin Netanyahu is understood to back Palestinian self-rule in an entity which has no army and does not control its own airspace or borders.
President Obama seems to hope he can achieve a historic Middle East settlement within his first term and this ambitious goal puts him on a collision course with Mr Netanyahu's government, BBC Middle East correspondent Paul Wood reports from Jerusalem. President Obama seems to hope he can achieve a historic Middle East settlement within his first term and this ambitious goal puts him on a collision course with Mr Netanyahu's government, the BBC's Paul Wood in Jerusalem says.
The immediate clash, however, will come over the issue of Jewish settlements built on land occupied by Israel in the 1967 war, our correspondent says.The immediate clash, however, will come over the issue of Jewish settlements built on land occupied by Israel in the 1967 war, our correspondent says.
Mr Obama has said more clearly than any US president for a long time that settlement building must stop, while Mr Netanyahu is sticking to the established Israeli formula that there should be "natural growth" in existing settlements.Mr Obama has said more clearly than any US president for a long time that settlement building must stop, while Mr Netanyahu is sticking to the established Israeli formula that there should be "natural growth" in existing settlements.
After Israel and the West Bank, Mr Mitchell is to head to Lebanon before visiting Syria on Friday and Saturday as part of increased diplomatic engagement by the Obama government with Damascus. After his talks with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Mitchell stressed the "unshakeable" US commitment to Israeli security, amid Israeli fears over increased US pressure.
"We come here to talk not as adversaries in disagreement but as friends in discussion," he said.
After Israel and the West Bank, the US envoy is to head to Lebanon before visiting Syria on Friday and Saturday as part of increased diplomatic engagement by the Obama government with Damascus.
The Palestinian Authority says it will not return to negotiations with Israel unless it freezes Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank and openly backs a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.