(Ynet News) Elior Levy - Wassel Abu-Youssef, a Palestinian representative to the exploratory talks with Israel in Jordan, said Thursday that the Quartet put together an incentives package that would build trust between the sides and jumpstart the stalled peace process. Quartet envoy Tony Blair relayed an outline of the package to Mahmoud Abbas this week, but the Palestinian president said he opposed it. The outline calls on Israel to allow a public Palestinian police presence in Area B in the West Bank, which is under Israeli security control and Palestinian administrative control. In addition, Israel will ease restrictions on Palestinian traffic in the West Bank, issue more permits to Palestinians to work in Israel, and allow the export of goods from Gaza to the West Bank. During the second phase of the Quartet's plan, Israel will release Palestinian prisoners, the Palestinian Authority will be authorized to develop gas reserves off Gaza's coastline, IDF activity in Area A will be reduced, and Israel will permit the launching of international projects in Area C. In return, the Palestinians were asked to come back to the negotiations without preconditions.
2012-02-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive