Netanyahu to Abbas: Let's Do Nonstop Talks

Israeli PM apparently trying to jumpstart peace talks
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 2, 2011 10:45 AM CST
Netanyahu to Abbas: Let's Do Nonstop Talks
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, third left, arrives at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011.    (Ronen Zvulun)

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is ready to head back to the negotiating table with Mahmoud Abbas—and stay there until a deal is struck, reports the AP. Seeking to jumpstart Mideast peace talks that stalled in September, Netanyahu said today that he's "ready to immediately sit down for continuous, direct, one-on-one negotiations until white smoke wafts."

Abbas this weekend suggested that a deal might be possible if Netanyahu showed "good will," and tacked more toward the centrist stance of predecessor Ehud Olmert. "We were close to an agreement," Abbas said. "The Palestinian position is clear to the Israelis and the Israeli position presented by Olmert is clear to us." (More Benjamin Netanyahu stories.)

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