UN urges Israelis, Palestinians to resume direct talks immediately

The United Nations and its diplomatic partners seeking peace in the Middle East on Monday called upon Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to "resume direct bilateral negotiations without delay or preconditions," a UN spokesperson said here on Monday. The Mideast Quartet, which groups the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia, met with both Israeli and Palestinian representatives in Jerusalem on Monday, in a bid to renew long-stalled peace talks between the PNA and Israel, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said at a daily news briefing. "Envoys called upon the parties to create a conducive environment for restarting talks and urged the parties to refrain from provocative actions," Nesirky said. They also discussed with both parties their development of proposals on territory and security in the context of the shared commitment to direct talks on the basis of the Quartet statement on Sept. 23, 2011, the spokesman said. Monday's discussions followed up similar meetings held last month, at which both sides agreed to come forward with comprehensive proposals on territory and security within three months. "Envoys will remain in close contact with each other and the parties and intend to have a follow-on meeting in December," Nesirky said. The Quartet is a diplomatic group in search of the two-state solution, which means a secure Israel to live in peace with an independent Palestinian State. The Quartet has been pressing the Israelis and the Palestinians to resume direct negotiations since Sept. 23, when Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas formally presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon the application for full UN membership. The group intends the parties to present comprehensive proposals within three months on territory and security, make substantial progress within six months, and reach an overall agreement by the end of 2012. Its envoys met separately with the parties on Oct. 26 in Jerusalem but failed to make any breakthrough. In late Oct., Palestine was admitted to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a full member, prompting the U.S. and Israel to move respectively to halt financial contributions to the organization and speed up housing construction in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Direct talks between the Palestinians and Israelis have been grinding to a halt in Sept. 2010 over the issue of Israeli settlement construction in the occupied Palestiian territory. The Palestinians said that they will not return to talks with Israel unless settlement building is halted in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.