Israel to Resume Taba Talks with Palestinians ThursdayThe Israeli government Wednesday night decided to continue peace talks with the Palestinians in the Egyptian resort of Taba despite the murder of two Israeli businessmen in the West Bank city of Tulkarm on Tuesday.Israeli TV Channel One reported the talks in Taba will resume on Thursday. The decision was made after a two-hour meeting of caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Barak's inner-circle peace cabinet Wednesday night. The peace cabinet meeting was convened after Barak recalled senior negotiators, including Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami and Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, for consultations shortly after two Israeli civilians were killed by Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank Tuesday night. The television report quoted a senior government source as saying that the talks will resume after the funeral of the two Israeli victims Thursday morning and go through the beginning of next week. It was reported that most members of the peace cabinet maintained on Wednesday that the negotiations, in which progress has reportedly been made, should be resumed after a short "time- out." However, Barak was reportedly considering suspending the negotiations until after the prime ministerial election on February 6 to avoid accusations by his main rival, right-wing opposition Likud leader Ariel Sharon, of "negotiating under fire." Apparently he has been convinced to go ahead with the talks by Ben-Ami and Beilin in the last minute. The talks in Taba, a last-ditch effort to reach a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians before the February election, started on Sunday. Reports said the two sides have made progress in the security and border issues, but gaps remained wide over the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees. |
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