The US has facilitated a meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators as part of its efforts to find a lasting solution to the Middle East peace process, an American official has said.
"At the request of the parties, the US facilitated a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators this evening to continue the intensive effort to resolve their differences. Gaps remain but both sides are committed to narrow the gaps," State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said yesterday.
The US facilitated such a meeting at the request of Palestinian and Israeli negotiators, following their meeting on Sunday.
"Well, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met last night to discuss ways to overcome the crisis in the talks. The meeting was serious, it was constructive, and both sides agreed to reconvene today to continue the effort," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters.
"The issue now is whether the parties can demonstrate that they are willing to make the difficult decisions necessary to move the process forward. The parties understand what the choices are and they understand that these are not decisions that the United States or any other country can make. The parties themselves have to make them," he said.
Noting that the US has an important role in trying to facilitate these negotiations, he said, these discussions, ultimately have to be made need to be made by the parties themselves.
"We are going to continue to engage in whatever way we can to try to facilitate this," he said.
