Obama calls for avoiding provocation in Mideast: Wafa
AFP
RAMALLAH- US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that Israel and the Palestinians should "refrain from all provocative measures" towards each other, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
He made the remark in a telephone call to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, Wafa said.
It said the two men "agreed to concentrate on the question of a final settlement, particularly regarding borders and security in the coming period of time, and (the need to) refrain from all provocative measures that could undermine confidence between the two parties."
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (left) with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell
The US president also gave assurances of his "deep attachment" to the peace process and to the "preservation of Arab, Israeli, Palestinian, American and international interests."
Abbas's next visit to Washington, a date for which is yet to be set, would focus on "studying in depth all the questions linked to peace."
Indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, known as proximity talks, began on Sunday, with Mitchell trying to unblock a peace process frozen since Israel launched an assault on the Gaza Strip in December 2008.
Significant differences remain, particularly over such thorny questions as the future status of Jerusalem, borders and Jewish settlements.
The proximity talks hit a snag on Monday as Israel vowed settlement building would continue in east Jerusalem, infuriating the Palestinians who protested to Washington.
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