Israel, Palestinians Reopen Peace Talks; Progress Cited

After 16 months of stalemate, Israeli and Palestinian officials signaled Sunday that they made some progress in the first round of high-level peace talks brokered by the United States. More talks were scheduled for today.

“We have discussed all the outstanding issues, dealt with them from all their aspects, and we will follow up,” senior Palestinian official Mahmoud Abbas said after 3 1/2 hours of talks, primarily with Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai.

Mordechai said the two delegations agreed to set up “small teams” to discuss the issues that have blocked a long-overdue Israeli troop withdrawal from West Bank land.

Just hours before the talks began in Tel Aviv, police in Jerusalem said they had foiled an attempted car bombing in the city center.

Jalal Rumaneh, 30, a Palestinian described by police as an activist with the Islamic militant group Hamas, was arrested in the failed attack, in which he suffered serious burns. No one else was hurt.

Before the talks, Palestinian negotiators signaled low expectations. But afterward, some negotiators sounded slightly upbeat.

Mohammed Dahlan, Palestinian Preventive Security chief in the Gaza Strip, said that while no breakthrough had been reached, the sides agreed to keep talking and would meet again today.

*

The United States had urged the two sides to meet today, saying they must negotiate directly to resolve differences over a U.S. initiative calling for Israel to withdraw from a further 13% of the West Bank.

Israel has balked, citing security concerns. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday’s attempted attack underscored those worries.

Dahlan said the Israelis refused to discuss the U.S. plan. “Whenever the Palestinians brought up the U.S. initiative, the Israelis would say, ‘Not yet,’ ” Dahlan said.

Netanyahu said Israel has “an open mind and a desire to achieve an agreement.” He said he did not rule out a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.

Netanyahu has said a deal was within reach if the Palestinians met several key Israeli demands.