U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell said today that Israeli and Palestinian leaders will meet on bi-weekly basis after this week’s peace talks. The first meeting will be held in Egypt, further signalling that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak would like to play a crucial role in these negotiations. I’m guessing that the second round of post-summit talks will be held in Jordan. But, what about future talks? Will Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramallah or Bethlehem ever be the seat of these negotiations? Well, we know Be’er Sheva won’t be.
But, the third site of these meetings will be interesting. Will Egypt and Jordan keep exchanging hosting duties? Will Europe or another Arab country get involved? What about Turkey, they have attempted to broker Israeli-Syrian peace before their ongoing dispute with Israel accelerated.
On a separate issue, Hamas attempted to sabotage peace talks by killing four Israelis. But now the Palestinian Authority has captured two suspects, flexing its ability to help ensure Israel’s security. The PA likely prioritized finding these killers as fodder during peace negotiations that it can protect Israel, while also sending a message to Hamas to refrain from terrorist acts. But, now the PA will be expected to continue cracking down on the terror group, and its unclear whether the PA is able and willing to do so.
But, Hamas isn’t the only saboteur of peace talks. A group of right wing Israelis burned Palestinian flags and advocated against the peace talks — but they did it, for the most part, without violence.
Photo from Ynet.
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