International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, 8 Mar 2010

Just as US Vice President Joe Biden landed in Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon, US special Mideast envoy George Mitchell announced that Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to his brokering of indirect peace talks, following a break in contacts over the past 16 months.

Mitchell, who was already in the region, said the two sides still had to determine the scope and structure of the "proximity talks" when he returns next week. He added that he hopes the indirect contacts will soon lead to direct talks.

Over strenuous objections from rival Hamas, the PLO Executive Committee met on Sunday and approved the resumption of talks under the "proximity" format. The governing PLO forum insisted, however, that it wanted borders for a future Palestinian state to top the agenda of any talks.

The announcement of renewed contacts followed Israel's authorization of 112 new housing units in the settlement of Betar Illit, just over the Green Line south of Jerusalem. The move enraged PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who told Mitchell during a meeting in Ramallah that it showed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not serious about achieving peace.

"[Abbas] told Mitchell that if every visit by the US envoy would be accompanied by more settlement construction, unilateral measures, creating facts on the ground and the continuation of assassinations, detentions and closures of Palestinian lands, then this raises a question mark over all our efforts," said PA chief negotiator Saeb Erekat. He especially derided "the big deception called settlement freeze."

Another senior Abbas aide, Tayeb Abdel Rahim, revealed that the Palestinians have made it clear that if the two sides fail to produce agreement over the borders of a future Palestinian state after four months of indirect negotiations, there would be no point in pursuing the talks further.

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