WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have agreed to meet again within two weeks to start substantive negotiations on a so-far elusive peace deal with the goal of reaching a deal within nine months.
Israel and Palestine were committed to “sustained, continuous and substantive negotiations on the core issue” that divided them, Kerry said at a joint press conference along with the Palestinian and Israeli chief negotiators, Saeb Erekat and Tzipi Livni, at the Department of State in Washington, DC after the two-day US-brokered talks ended on Tuesday.
Kerry said the two sides will meet again during the next two weeks, with the new round of talks to take place either in Israel or the Palestinian territories.
“The parties have agreed here today that all of the final status issues, all of the core issues and all other issues are all on the table for negotiation. And they are on the table with one simple goal: a view to ending the conflict,” Kerry said.
“Our objective will be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months.”
The US secretary of state also hailed acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for sending the negotiators to Washington.
However, many Palestinians believe the talks are doomed to failure because the Israeli regime and Washington are pushing for the Palestinians to unconditionally surrender.
