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Israelis, Palestinians to Work Out Framework Agreement

(Jerusalem Post) Hilary Leila Krieger and Herb Keinon - At the beginning of direct talks in Washington, Israelis and Palestinians agreed to work out a framework agreement in the coming months as a first step to a full peace treaty, U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell announced on Thursday. The idea, according to sources close to Netanyahu, is to reach agreement in principle on core issues, and then have the respective staffs settle the details. In private meetings, Netanyahu said that what was needed were decisions by the leaders, "not a sea of staff work." Mitchell stressed that the framework deal would not be an "interim agreement," but would tackle all of the issues at the heart of the conflict. The parties agreed to hold another round of talks on September 14 and 15, possibly at the Egyptian resort of Sharm e-Sheik, together with Secretary of State Clinton and Mitchell. Netanyahu and Abbas held a one-on-one discussion for two hours on Thursday. Mitchell indicated that Abbas and Netanyahu would meet personally every two weeks.
2010-09-03 08:47:17
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