The top US diplomat’s meeting follows a stormy talk between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators in al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state but borders and security are top on the agenda of the Palestinians, who want their state to include land captured by Israel in 1967.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis currently live in settlements built on the occupied territories, with Israel still introducing new plans to expand the illegal construction activities.
Before Kerry’s visit, Israel announced plans to move forward with thousands of new settler homes, a large percentage of them in annexed Arab east al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Kerry met Wednesday morning with Netanyahu. Later, he is set to travel to the West Bank town of Bethlehem to visit acting chief of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas.
The Israeli-Palestinian talks, after being launched in July, quickly ran into trouble with no visible signs of progress. The negotiations are set to end in April. The current deadlock has raised speculation that the US may step up its involvement.
Kerry’s visit to the occupied territories is part of his 10-day trip to the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. The US diplomat has already visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia in the region.
ARA/ARA
Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/11/06/333268/kerry-urging-israelipalestinian-talks/
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