The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said last week that the discussions had ended in failure, but he left open the possibility of resuming contacts under certain conditions and after consultations with Arab League representatives later this week. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel told his cabinet Sunday that the signs of possible resumption were “not particularly good.’’
Ban arrived in Israel the day after Netanyahu won three-quarters of the vote in a primary race in his Likud Party, adding to his domestic strength.
“This is the moment to display further leadership to ensure that negotiations continue,’’ Ban told Netanyahu at a joint news conference.
Netanyahu thanked Ban for his “good intentions,’’ but said the settlement question should be dealt with as part of a final agreement. “It cannot be a precondition to enter into that agreement,’’ he said.
Netanyahu also spoke with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday and told her that Israel was interested in continuing talks with the Palestinians while preserving Israel’s security interests, according to a statement from his office.
Israel has been calling for direct negotiations without preconditions. The Palestinians have demanded a freeze in Israeli settlement construction and an Israeli acceptance of the pre-1967 lines as the basis for negotiations on the borders of a Palestinian state.
The five meetings in January ended on an acrimonious note after the Palestinian envoy refused to allow an Israeli military official to outline Israel’s security requirements and the Israeli envoy offered a vague, verbal formula on territorial issues that would have existing settlement blocs becoming part of Israel, a stance the Palestinians rejected as unacceptable.
The Palestinians say they have already presented detailed, written proposals on borders and security to the so-called quartet of Middle East peacemakers consisting of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia. Ban said he hoped that Israel would yet submit its own “concrete proposals on territory and security.’’
Ban came to Jerusalem from Jordan, where he met King Abdullah II and other officials. After meeting with Israeli leaders he headed for the West Bank where he toured Rawabi, an ambitious city under construction that is the Palestinians’ first planned municipality. Later he met with Abbas and other officials in Ramallah.
Abbas told reporters after his meeting with Ban that the Palestinians rejected any further Israeli settlement construction and “would not accept it today or tomorrow.’’
