(Reuters).President Mahmoud Abbas is studying a U.S. proposal for talks between the
Palestinians and Israel at a level below full-scale negotiations between their leaders, a Palestinian official said on Monday.
The proposal is the latest idea by U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell to bring about a resumption of peace talks that have been frozen for 13 months.
Palestinian sources familiar with Mitchell's weekend round of diplomacy said he had proposed confidence-building measures that would improve conditions in the Palestinian territories.
Israeli officials, noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had on Sunday welcomed unspecified "new ideas" for talks from Mitchell, said their government stood ready to take part in U.S.-mediated discussions with Palestinian officials.
The confidence-building steps cited by Palestinians as areas they would be keen to discuss included the transfer of authority from the Israeli army to the Palestinians in more of the West Bank's territory, the removal of some Israeli checkpoints and release of a number of Palestinian prisoners.
These measures would be discussed at a meeting of senior ministers from each side, but not the top leaders.
Israeli political sources said they were not aware of specific secondary issues, such as prisoners, that might be discussed with the Palestinians -- they spoke rather of talks at a ministerial or lower level that would look at narrowing differences over "core issues" in suspended peace negotiations.
Core issues include the future borders of a Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem and fate of Palestinian refugees.
Palestinians and Israel at a level below full-scale negotiations between their leaders, a Palestinian official said on Monday.
The proposal is the latest idea by U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell to bring about a resumption of peace talks that have been frozen for 13 months.
Palestinian sources familiar with Mitchell's weekend round of diplomacy said he had proposed confidence-building measures that would improve conditions in the Palestinian territories.
Israeli officials, noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had on Sunday welcomed unspecified "new ideas" for talks from Mitchell, said their government stood ready to take part in U.S.-mediated discussions with Palestinian officials.
The confidence-building steps cited by Palestinians as areas they would be keen to discuss included the transfer of authority from the Israeli army to the Palestinians in more of the West Bank's territory, the removal of some Israeli checkpoints and release of a number of Palestinian prisoners.
These measures would be discussed at a meeting of senior ministers from each side, but not the top leaders.
Israeli political sources said they were not aware of specific secondary issues, such as prisoners, that might be discussed with the Palestinians -- they spoke rather of talks at a ministerial or lower level that would look at narrowing differences over "core issues" in suspended peace negotiations.
Core issues include the future borders of a Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem and fate of Palestinian refugees.
