Quartet to hold separate talks with Mideast parties

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International mediators will meet separately with Israeli and Palestinian officials on October 26 in Jerusalem to try to revive direct peace talks that fell apart more than a year ago, the United States said .

The talks convened by the so-called Quartet — the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States — fell short of its own target of bringing the parties into a direct meeting by October 23.

The Quartet has taken a lead in the effort to resume peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians that collapsed more than a year ago over the issue of Israeli construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Reuters reports.

The last round ended after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to extend a 10-month limited moratorium on settlement construction, something Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had demanded to continue negotiations.
“The Quartet envoys will be meeting with the parties in Jerusalem on October 26 … with the aim to begin preparations and develop an agenda for proceeding in the negotiations,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.