Abbas and Kerry meet in London

[Jefferson23]

This was their first meeting since the collapse of the peace negotiations last month; meanwhile, Hamas and Fatah meet on unity in Gaza

By Haaretz | May 14, 2014

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was due to meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in London on Wednesday, their first meeting since peace talks with Israel collapsed last month. The talks were described as informal.

Meanwhile, Hamas and Fatah officials concluded a three-hour meeting in Gaza on Wednesday saying that they were confident they would meet the five-week deadline to establish a unity government.

Moussa Abu Marzouk, head of the Hamas negotiating team, said the talks would be finalized next week and a unity government would be announced shortly afterwards, Albawaba News reported.All candidates proposed for the Palestinian unity government will be politically "impartial," Fatah official Fayez Abu Atiyeh told Ma'an. The formation of a proposed unity cabinet is nearly complete, according to Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri.

Earlier, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said that he believed the unity government would achieve its goals and "our mission is to make it succeed and to mobilize our people behind its national goals."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.590684

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1. Livni, Abbas meet for first time since breakdown in peace talks

Justice minister meets with Palestinian president in London to discuss Hamas unity government and future of peace talks.

By Barak Ravid | May 16, 2014

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in London on Thursday, a senior Israeli official said.

This is the first meeting between Abbas and a senior Israeli minister in several months.

Livni, who is the senior Israeli negotiator in the peace talks with the Palestinians, told Abbas in the meeting that the establishment of a unity government with Hamas is very problematic for Israel and will make it difficult to renew negotiations.

The Israeli official said that the goal of the meeting was to attempt to understand Abbas' intentions following the breakdown of peace talks with Israel. The meeting was arranged on short notice due to the fact that both Livni and Abbas were in London at the same time. The official said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was notified by Livni ahead of the meeting. Israel's Channel 2 was the first to report on the meeting.

On Thursday, Livni met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the two discussed the future of peace negotiations.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.591127