Palestinian and Israeli negotiators depart for Washington to re-open negotiations after years of stalemate.
Israeli and Palestinian teams are heading to Washington for preliminary talks towards a formal re-opening of negotiations after years of stalemate, but both sides are emphasizing that many obstacles stand between them and a final deal, SIA reports citing BBC Newss.
Israel's chief negotiator Tzipi Livni said early Monday as she left for Washington that talks would be complex and that she was leaving "cautiously but also with hope."
Palestinian negotiators also departed after the Israeli cabinet acceded to Palestinian demands and agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners, some of whom have been jailed for decades.
The Israeli president, Shimon Peres, praised the resumption of talks, describing it as a "special day."
"The Middle East is in a stormy situation. We hope the Middle East will overcome its storm and land in a port of peace," he said while on a visit to Latvia.
Peres played down any potential mediating role by the European Union, saying Europe should "help but leave the negotiations to ourselves and the Palestinians." The EU angered Israeli leaders earlier this month by issuing guidelines which would restrict joint projects in the occupied West Bank.
A statement issued on Sunday by the US State Department said that secretary of state John Kerry spoke to the Israeli and Palestinian leaders and "personally extended an invitation to send senior negotiating teams to Washington to formally resume direct final status negotiations."
These meetings "will serve as an opportunity to develop a procedural workplan for how the parties can proceed with the negotiations in the coming months," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement on Sunday.
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