Arab nations Saturday endorsed indirect peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis, a move that likely paves the way for the start of long-stalled US-brokered negotiations. The United States has proposed the talks to end the impasse between Israelis and Palestinians over the conditions for resuming negotiations, which broke down more than a year ago amid Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The green light from Arab foreign ministers comes after a first attempt to get indirect talks going collapsed in March when Israel announced a new Jewish housing project in east Jerusalem. The Israeli decision enraged Palestinians and drew fierce criticism from the United States. It also led to the worst rift in years between the U.S. and Israel, Washington's closest Mideast ally. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signaled that he is willing to resume negotiations, but has been waiting for approval from Arab countries, which would provide Abbas the political cover he needs to return to talks. Arab League chief Amr Moussa stressed Saturday that the League would be keeping a close eye on the talks, and said there will be no transition from indirect to direct negotiations. Arabs want a total freeze in settlement building before returning to direct talks. This is the second time Arab states have backed indirect negotiations with Israel; the first time was in early March. The Arab foreign ministers expressed reservations Saturday about backing the talks again, and warned that peace efforts would collapse if Israel continued to build settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. They also said they wouldn't endorse an extension on the four-month window they originally gave the talks in March, a decision that leaves the US only two months to make headway in the shuttle negotiations. Syria and Lebanon rejected the decision, saying the US had not provided adequate safeguards needed to renew negotiations. There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters Saturday in Shanghai, China, that the Palestinians' executive committee will meet soon to make a final decision on resuming talks. He also confirmed reports that he will visit Washington later this month for talks with US officials “to push the peace process forward.” On Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the talks would start next week.
