The U.S. State Department announced on Tuesday that the delegates of the International Quartet Committee will be holding separate meetings with the Palestinian and Israeli leaders next Monday, November 14, in Jerusalem. They will be trying to facilitate the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.“We are expecting more separate meetings to be held with the Palestinians and the Israelis,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Noland, told reporters.
According to a report by Reuters, Noland stated that “The meetings are meant to encourage both sides [the Palestinians and Israel] to offer suggestions, especially regarding land and security issues.”
The International Quartet Committee is comprised of delegates from the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia.
Quartet envoys have visited the region several times in an attempt to ensure the resumption of talks. They have been trying to negotiate proposals meant to reduce the gap between the stances of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, especially on issues related to security arrangements, settlements, and the efforts to ensure the establishment of an independent Palestinian State without “hindering the security of Israel.”
In September of this year, the quartet offered a schedule meant to revive the talks, but Israel kept approving more plans to construct and expand its settlements in the occupied territories, and continued its invasions into Palestinian areas.
The Palestinian Authority quit direct talks with Israel in September 2010, after a temporary freeze on settlement activities expired, and Israel resumed its settlement activities at full gear.
