Israelis and Palestinians Agree to Formal Talks
July 30, 2013
Negotiators from Israel and the Palestinian Authority have agreed to revive formal peace talks within the next two weeks, United States Secretary of State John Kerry announced today. The announcement concluded two days of informal discussions between delegates from the two governments held in Washington, D.C. The goal of the upcoming talks will be a comprehensive agreement leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority serves as the government for Palestinians in much of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, territories that, along with Israel, makes up the historic region of Palestine. “Everyone involved here believes that we cannot pass along to another generation the responsibility for ending a conflict that is in our power to resolve in our time,” Kerry stated at a press briefing. He noted that the negotiators hope to reach a “final status” agreement by May 1, 2014.
The United States-brokered talks will be the first direction negotiations between the two parties in five years. A recent decision by the Israeli Cabinet to release 104 Palestinian prisoners cleared the way for the current discussions. Many of the prisoners have been behind bars since before the signing of the Oslo accords of 1993.
The peace talks would also need to address such major issues as the presence of Israeli forces in an independent Palestinian state and the future of Jerusalem, which both sides claim. The talks would also need to deal with the status of Palestinians refugees or descendants of the more than 700,000 refugees who fled or were driven out of Israel when it was created in 1948. Some are people who were forced to leave the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which were occupied by Israel in 1967 during the Six-Day War.
At a dinner for the delegates on Monday evening, U.S. President Barack Obama expressed cautious optimism for the talks. “This is a promising step forward, though hard work and hard choices remain ahead,” he said. “The most difficult work of these negotiations is ahead and I am hopeful that both the Israelis and Palestinians will approach these talks in good faith and with sustained focus and determination.”
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