Palestinians, Israel Keep Negotiating

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators aimed to reach agreement on an American peace initiative in a second round of closed talks. The meeting at a kibbutz outside Jerusalem came one day after the sides held their first high-level talks in months. The talks were urged by the United States, which, after months of mediation, failed to get Israel to agree to withdraw its troops from an additional 13% of West Bank land. Israel’s Channel 2 TV said the Israeli delegation is proposing a 10% withdrawal, with an additional 3% of the territory turned into “nature reserves” to be tended by both sides.