RELATED:US envoy Mitchell arrives in Mideast, meets Barak'PA seeks future NATO presence'One senior Israeli official, when asked about the letters, said Jerusalem hoped the Palestinians were not looking for an excuse to scuttle the talks. “We want this process to succeed,” he said.Erekat also said the Palestinians were keen on ensuring the success of the talks, and that they were focusing on final-status issues such as borders and refugees.“We’re not asking Mitchell about his talks with the Israelis, because these are proximity talks,” he said. “We are negotiating with the Americans according to an agreed agenda.”Erekat also expressed hope that the parties would “exploit every moment” during the four-month proximity talks to reach agreement on the future borders of the Palestinian state.Israeli officials have said repeatedly that final-status issues such as borders and refugees would have to be negotiated between the sides.“The more difficult issues cannot have a resolution without directnegotiations,” one diplomatic official stressed. “If they want to havea peace agreement, they are going to have to negotiate directly withus.”Abbas reportedly discussed with Mitchell the possibility of NATO troopsbeing stationed in a future Palestinian state, something that has beenraised in the past by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.Netanyahu’s position, however, is that in the foreseeable future Israelwould have to have a presence on the eastern border of a futurePalestinian state, to ensure that weapons do not pour into it, as theyhave into the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and to Hizbullah in Lebanon fromSyria.Mitchell met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday afternoon, soon after arriving.
Abbas warns of Israeli ‘provocations'
J'lem hopes PA isn’t looking for excuses to scuttle the peace process.
RELATED:US envoy Mitchell arrives in Mideast, meets Barak'PA seeks future NATO presence'One senior Israeli official, when asked about the letters, said Jerusalem hoped the Palestinians were not looking for an excuse to scuttle the talks. “We want this process to succeed,” he said.Erekat also said the Palestinians were keen on ensuring the success of the talks, and that they were focusing on final-status issues such as borders and refugees.“We’re not asking Mitchell about his talks with the Israelis, because these are proximity talks,” he said. “We are negotiating with the Americans according to an agreed agenda.”Erekat also expressed hope that the parties would “exploit every moment” during the four-month proximity talks to reach agreement on the future borders of the Palestinian state.Israeli officials have said repeatedly that final-status issues such as borders and refugees would have to be negotiated between the sides.“The more difficult issues cannot have a resolution without directnegotiations,” one diplomatic official stressed. “If they want to havea peace agreement, they are going to have to negotiate directly withus.”Abbas reportedly discussed with Mitchell the possibility of NATO troopsbeing stationed in a future Palestinian state, something that has beenraised in the past by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.Netanyahu’s position, however, is that in the foreseeable future Israelwould have to have a presence on the eastern border of a futurePalestinian state, to ensure that weapons do not pour into it, as theyhave into the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and to Hizbullah in Lebanon fromSyria.Mitchell met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday afternoon, soon after arriving.