After two years of stalled negotiations, Israeli and Palestinian officials issued a joint statement declaring their commitment to peace. The statement comes after Israel formed a broad national unity government.
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| Israeli settlements are one of the main sticking points |
Although the contents of Netanyahu's letter were not disclosed, Israel has previously said it was prepared to restart peace talks, but only if there were no preconditions. Palestinians have demanded that Israel accept a two-state solution within the borders prior to the 1967 Mideast war and a halt to settlement building.
"Israel and the Palestinian Authority are committed to achieving peace and the sides hope that the exchange of letters between President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu will further this goal," Netanyahu's office and the Palestinians said in a joint statement after Israeli envoy Isaac Molcho met with Abbas in Ramallah.
Moribund peace process
The peace process has been at a standstill since 2010, when Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected Palestinian demands for an expansion of the temporary freeze on settlement building in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
In September 2011, the Palestinians launched their own unilateral bid to have their state recognized through admission to the United Nations. The bid lost steam after it became clear that the United States, which argued that peace could only come through bilateral negotiations, would veto the proposal at the UN Security Council.
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| Netanyahu (left) formed a unity government with Mofaz's (right) Kadima party |
In addition, around 1,600 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails are currently on hunger strike to end the practice of indefinite detention without trial and to improve their conditions. Around 4,600 Palestinians are currently held by Israel.
slk/mr (AP, AFP, Reuters)
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