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Mid-East sides begin peace talks Difficult start to Mid-East talks
(about 11 hours later)
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have started the first formal peace talks in seven years. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have held their first formal session of peace talks since 2000, but reports say it was dominated by recriminations.
The meeting comes two weeks after pledges by the two sides' leaders at Annapolis to seek a deal on a Palestinian state by the end of 2008. Arguments revolved around plans for new building work in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, officials said.
A BBC correspondent says today's talks are likely to be procedural. A Palestinian negotiator said the only positive outcome was that the two delegations had agreed to meet again.
However, the Palestinians are likely to raise Israel's plans for new building on occupied territory in East Jerusalem after tenders went out for 300 houses. It is a fortnight since the two sides' leaders pledged at Annapolis to seek a Palestinian statehood deal before 2009.
The plans to expand the Har Homa settlement have been criticised by the American and British governments, and by the European Union. Correspondents say the meeting had been meant to set in motion negotiations on so-called core issues - borders, Palestinian refugees, Jerusalem and water.
We really wanted to see it as a procedural meeting in good spirit... They created a tense atmosphere Israeli official Mechanics of the new talks Former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said in a statement that the delegation had demanded a total stop to fresh settlement activity, including what Israel describes as "natural growth".
Last week Israel sent out tenders for 300 houses. The plans to expand the Har Homa settlement have been criticised by the American and British governments, and by the European Union.
"If you want to restore the credibility of the peace process, the Israeli government must revoke this order," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Israel disputes the occupied status of the land - known as Abu Ghneim in Arabic - arguing it annexed all of East Jerusalem after capturing it during the 1967 war.
New locationNew location
Wednesday's talks are being led by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei. Wednesday's talks, held in Jerusalem, were led by Mr Qurei and the Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni. They lasted just 90 minutes.
Under the roadmap it is obliged to stop settlement activity, including natural growth needs Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7138910.stm">Mechanics of the new talks A minority of Israelis bitterly oppose a future Palestinian stateThe talks were moved from the famous King David Hotel to another hotel in West Jerusalem at the last minute. This has been interpreted as an attempt to lower their profile by Israel.
"I intend to invest in trying to create a path for dialogue and negotiations with our neighbours," said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday. An unnamed Israeli official criticised the Palestinian negotiators for raising the issue of Har Homa, as well as recent Israeli military action in Gaza.
"At [the US-hosted talks in] Annapolis we initiated an effort, which I hope will mature into ongoing and serious dialogue." "We really wanted to see it as a procedural meeting in good spirit... They created a tense atmosphere," the Associated Press quoted the official as saying.
Reports say Israel has without explanation moved the planned location of the talks from the King David Hotel in West Jerusalem to an undisclosed location, interpreted as a way of lowering their profile. The official said Israel had, in turn, complained about ongoing Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
The talks are likely to centre on working out how future negotiations should be held - who should meet whom and how often. On Wednesday morning, Palestinian militants fired 15 unguided rockets at Israel, one of which injured a girl with shrapnel.
BBC correspondent Tim Franks in Jerusalem says the argument over 300 homes in Har Homa underlines the huge difficulties in sorting out the toughest issues - the future of Jerusalem, borders, Palestinian refugees and water. It followed an Israeli incursion into Gaza on Tuesday, one of the largest in months, that killed six militants.
Rocket attack The Gaza Strip is under the control of the militant Hamas movement which refuses to recognise Israel's legitimacy and is excluded from the peace talks.
Palestinian negotiators accused Israel of using the new settlement activity at Har Homa, called Abu Ghneim in Arabic, to sabotage the talks. The Islamist group, which won parliamentary elections in 2006, drove Abbas loyalists by force out of the narrow coastal strip in June, adding another major obstacle in progress towards a two-state solution.
"Israel took a step that handicaps and distracts negotiations in launching a tender bid for building at Abu Ghneim," Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview with AFP.
"Under the roadmap it is obliged to stop settlement activity, including natural growth needs."
Palestinian officials also criticised an Israeli incursion into Gaza on Tuesday, one of the largest in months, that killed six militants.
On Wednesday morning, Palestinian militants fired 15 unguided rockets at Israel, reports say, one of which injured a girl with shrapnel.
The Gaza Strip is under control of the militant Hamas movement which refuses to recognise Israel's legitimacy and is excluded from the peace talks.
The Islamist group, which won parliamentary elections in 2006, drove out by force Abbas loyalists from the narrow coastal strip in June, adding another major obstacle in progress towards a two-state solution.