October 31, 2009 2:30 PM

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Palestinian Prez, US envoy meet to discuss Middle East peace talk

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and US envoy George Mitchell have met in the Abu Dhabi today to discuss the latest bid to revive Middle East peace talks. The chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said that both leaders discussed Mitchell's efforts to launch the peace process in the Middle East, but a gap still exists. He added that ending settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is the prelude for resuming negotiations. Abbas is expected to meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this evening , who arrived in the United Arab Emirates. Ms Clinton will be heading to Jerusalem where she is due to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow.<br/>Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were broken off after Gaza war. The Palestinians are insisting on a complete freeze of Israeli construction in the occupied West Bank before the peace process can resume, while Israel has not shown any signs of willingness to halt construction. It remains to be seen how far Ms. Clinton’s visit to the region can inspire Israel to halt the constructions to encourage Palestinians to return on the negotiating table. <br/>

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