Report: Israel Letter Says New Cabinet Chance for Peace
Israel's new unity government could help move forward the stalled peace process, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a letter to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Haaretz newspaper reported on Monday.
The letter, which answers an earlier missive from Abbas about the stalled peace process, was delivered on Saturday, but so far, no details of its content have been made public.
Quoting a source who saw the letter, the paper said Netanyahu had told Abbas that his surprise move to form a broad coalition with the center-right Kadima opposition, which was announced last week, would help advance peace talks.
"The national unity government has created a new opportunity to move the peace process ahead," he wrote.
Haaretz said the letter also contained a pledge "to establish a demilitarized Palestinian state in keeping with the principle of a two-state solution."
Netanyahu has backed that position in public before, but the newspaper said it was the first time it had been outlined in an "official state document."
The exchange of letters between the leaders comes as direct talks remain in deep freeze after grinding to a halt in autumn 2010 over the issue of settlement construction.
In January, negotiators from both sides held five exploratory meetings in a bid to find a way to resume dialogue, but they ended inconclusively.
Abbas's April 17 letter asked Netanyahu to outline his position on four key issues: the principle of a two-state solution based on pre-1967 lines, halting settlement activity, releasing all Palestinian prisoners and revoking all decisions that undermine bilateral agreements since 2000.
But the Palestine Liberation Organization on Sunday said Netanyahu's response "did not contain clear answers on the central issues hampering the resumption of negotiations."
Source: Agence France Presse
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