US Middle East envoy George Mitchell launched Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations Wednesday after a break of more than a year, amid much skepticism from both sides.
Mitchell met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to start the indirect negotiations. He will travel between Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem and the headquarters of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the meeting was "good and productive" but did not give details.
Netanyahu's media adviser Nir Hefetz said at the end of the meeting, "The prime minister and Senator Mitchell met this evening for a three-hour work meeting, and decided to meet again tomorrow."
Part of the meeting was held in private, and the rest of the meeting was attended by Netanyahu's advisers Uzi Arad and Yitzhak Molcho, and Mitchell's aides Dan Shapiro and David Hale.
"We are waiting for Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas). As far as we are concerned, preparations are complete. The talks with Mitchell were good and constructive and will continue tomorrow as well," a source from the Prime Minister's Office said.
Meanwhile Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that US-brokered indirect peace talks with Israel could quickly collapse if they do not focus on core issues like the final borders of a Palestinian state.
"Negotiations will focus on final status issues and there's no need to enter into details and small matters because we have had enough of that in the previous negotiations," Abbas said after talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Jordanian capital.
Abbas gave the talks four months to make progress. After that, he said, he will seek Arab League advice on next steps.
"We said the indirect negotiations will last only four months," Abbas said. "After that, we will go to the Arab League to consult on whether to continue or what to do."
Mitchell met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to start the indirect negotiations. He will travel between Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem and the headquarters of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the meeting was "good and productive" but did not give details.
Netanyahu's media adviser Nir Hefetz said at the end of the meeting, "The prime minister and Senator Mitchell met this evening for a three-hour work meeting, and decided to meet again tomorrow."
Part of the meeting was held in private, and the rest of the meeting was attended by Netanyahu's advisers Uzi Arad and Yitzhak Molcho, and Mitchell's aides Dan Shapiro and David Hale.
"We are waiting for Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas). As far as we are concerned, preparations are complete. The talks with Mitchell were good and constructive and will continue tomorrow as well," a source from the Prime Minister's Office said.
Meanwhile Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that US-brokered indirect peace talks with Israel could quickly collapse if they do not focus on core issues like the final borders of a Palestinian state.
"Negotiations will focus on final status issues and there's no need to enter into details and small matters because we have had enough of that in the previous negotiations," Abbas said after talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Jordanian capital.
Abbas gave the talks four months to make progress. After that, he said, he will seek Arab League advice on next steps.
"We said the indirect negotiations will last only four months," Abbas said. "After that, we will go to the Arab League to consult on whether to continue or what to do."
