Mitchell due to visit three Arab countries
AFP
WASHINGTON- US Middle East envoy George Mitchell was due in Qatar on Friday before traveling to Egypt and Jordan as part of efforts to save fledgling Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.
"We continue to urge the parties to continue in these direct talks, and Senator Mitchell will be talking to leaders in the region to encourage them to continue to support this process," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.
The envoy, who arrived in the region on Tuesday, and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, shuttled Friday between Jerusalem and Ramallah in a bid to save direct peace talks launched only four weeks ago.
Mitchell met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah as he sought to break the deadlock over Jewish settlements.
Israel's decision to let a ban on building new Jewish homes in the West Bank expire last Sunday has brought the talks to a new crisis point.
"Abbas made it clear to Senator Mitchell that no negotiations will take place as long as the settlement activities are ongoing," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP after Abbas's second meeting with the US envoy in 24 hours.
Abbas has said he will reserve a final decision on whether to withdraw from the talks until after he confers with Arab foreign ministers on the sidelines of a summit in the Libyan city of Sirte toward the end of next week.
He was also expected to discuss the matter with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the central committee of his Fatah party at a meeting on Saturday.
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