Peace summit expected to be announced

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to announce a peace summit to renew negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Israel's Ha'aretz daily reported Saturday. Ha'aretz cited an anonymous senior Israeli official as saying that "there is a high probability a four-way summit will take place, perhaps as soon as this week." According to the report, the summit will take place in Amman, Jordan, with the participation of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the United States and Jordan. Israeli media also cited two Jordanian newspapers, Ad-Dustour and Al-Arab Al-Yawm, which reported a possible breakthrough in the talks. According to the reports, Kerry conveyed the Israeli response to the demands of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, saying that Israel agrees to a gradual release of Palestinian prisoners. Kerry is due to arrive on Saturday to Amman to meet with Abbas for the second time in this round of talks. On Friday, Kerry held a second meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and also met with Israeli President Shimon Peres. This is the fifth time Kerry visits the Middle East in order to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Peace talks came to a halt in 2010 over Israel's ongoing settlement construction in the West Bank.