Kerry to speak with Israeli, Palestinian leaders Friday

AMMAN, Jordan — A US official said late Thursday that Secretary of State John Kerry will consult with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Friday before ending his current visit to the Middle East and returning to the United States.

The official said that the debate over Kerry’s plans to relaunch stalled peace talks is both “appropriate and encouraging” but made no mention of an announcement of new negotiations.

Kerry was still in Jordan Thursday night and could possibly stop in the Palestinian Authority or Israel on his way home, but the official gave no indication of how the secretary would consult with the two sides. He could also speak to the parties by phone before returning to the US.

A senior Palestinian source told The Times of Israel on Thursday evening that the PLO leadership decided in principle  to return to peace talks with Israel on condition that the American invitation to such talks specifies that the negotiations will be for the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 lines.

The source was speaking soon after meetings of the PLO’s Central Committee with President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. The Palestinian leadership decided that other longstanding pre-conditions for resumed talks, including the release of pre-Oslo Palestinian prisoners and a freeze to settlement building, could be dealt with after such an invitation was received, the official added.

Palestinian media reports indicated that a formal Palestinian decision would be forthcoming on Friday morning. The reports said the meetings in Ramallah had been heated, but that Abbas had decided in principle to come back to the negotiating table. Palestinian news sources reported Thursday evening, by contrast, that most Palestinian factions oppose the resumption of negotiations with Israel under the conditions outlined by Kerry.