Photos: Israeli and Palestinian officials resume peace talks in Washington D.C.
July 29, 2013
A section of the controversial Israeli barrier is seen close to a Jewish settlement near Jerusalem known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim July 25, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. REUTER/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
A section of the controversial Israeli barrier snakes around Shuafat refugee camp (R) in the West Bank near Jerusalem July 27, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. Picture taken July 27, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Palestinians men walk towards an Israeli checkpoint on their way to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at the Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem, Friday, July 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) ( Mideast Israel Palestinians )
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) speaks next to Martin Indyk at the State Department in Washington July 29, 2013. Kerry named former U.S. ambassador to Israel Indyk as his main envoy in Israeli-Palestinian talks starting in Washington later on Monday seeking "reasonable compromises" in the tough negotiations. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas ( MIDEAST-TALKS/INDYK )
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem July 28, 2013. Netanyahu urged his rightist cabinet to approve a divisive Israeli decision to release 104 Arab prisoners in order to restart peace talk with the Palestinians. RONEN ZVULUN/AFP/Getty Images ( 521697023 )
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, center, chairs a session of the Palestinian cabinet in the West Bank city of Ramallah, July 28, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shuttled between Israeli and Palestinian leaders for months seeking a breakthrough and announced last week that the Palestinians and the Israelis were willing to meet to discuss renewing talks. The Palestinians long refused to return to the negotiating table unless Israel agreed to several preconditions. (AP Photo/ Xinhua, Issam Rimawi, Pool) ( Palestinian Israel )
Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni talks to reporters in the lobby of the United Nations after her meeting with Ban Ki-moon (unseen) in New York, July 29, 2013. Livni is en route to Washington for peace talks with the Palestinians. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/USA )
A sign stands at an Israeli checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus July 23, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. Picture taken July 23, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Palestinians walk near the controversial Israeli barrier as they cross into Jerusalem at an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank town of Bethlehem July 26, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. Picture taken July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Israeli soldiers sit near a part of Israel's controversial barrier as a Palestinian walks towards Qalandiya checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Workers construct part of the fence Israel is building to separate Israeli controlled areas, left, from Palestinian areas, right, in the northern West Bank on July 29, 2003. The contours of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal are clear. If only the two sides would finally summon up the vision, the will and the courage, then the outcome is largely preordained, it is said: Two states roughly along the pre-1967 borders with Jerusalem as a shared capital and some elegant solution for the Palestinian refugees.This attractive notion of an inevitable eventual result has been around for decades in the diplomatic community - a deterministic hypothesis that has survived repeated failures by the sides to make the final leap. And the issue is relevant again, with Secretary of State John Kerry having coaxed Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the bargaining table anew, in talks set to begin in Washington this week. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File) ( Mideast Talks Analyisis )
Palestinian laborers work at a construction site in a Jewish settlement near Jerusalem known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim July 25, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. Picture taken July 25, 2013. REUTER/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Palestinian children play near a section of the controversial Israeli barrier in Shuafat refugee camp in the West Bank near Jerusalem July 29, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. REUTERS/Ammar Awad ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
A Palestinian boy plays near a section of the controversial Israeli barrier in Shuafat refugee camp in the West Bank near Jerusalem July 29, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. REUTERS/Ammar Awad ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Shuafat refugee camp is seen behind a section of the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank near Jerusalem July 27, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. Picture taken July 27, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
An aerial view over the West Bank showing a Palestinian village, left, and a Jewish settlement, right, separated by a wall, part of the separation fence Israel is building on July 29, 2013. The contours of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal are clear. If only the two sides would finally summon up the vision, the will and the courage, then the outcome is largely preordained, it is said: Two states roughly along the pre-1967 borders with Jerusalem as a shared capital and some elegant solution for the Palestinian refugees.This attractive notion of an inevitable eventual result has been around for decades in the diplomatic community - a deterministic hypothesis that has survived repeated failures by the sides to make the final leap. And the issue is relevant again, with Secretary of State John Kerry having coaxed Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the bargaining table anew, in talks set to begin in Washington this week. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) ( Mideast Talks Analysis )
A construction site is seen in Pisgat Zeev (R), an urban settlement in an area Israel annexed to Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war, as the Shuafat refugee camp (rear) in the West Bank is seen behind a section of the controversial Israeli barrier, July 28, 2013. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday urged divided rightists in his cabinet to approve the release of 104 Arab prisoners in order to restart peace talk with the Palestinians. The prisoner release would allow Netanyahu to sidestep other Palestinian demands, such as a halt to Jewish settlement expansion. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
A Palestinian laborer works on a construction site in Pisgat Zeev, an urban settlement in an area Israel annexed to Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war, July 28, 2013. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday urged divided rightists in his cabinet to approve the release of 104 Arab prisoners in order to restart peace talk with the Palestinians. The prisoner release would allow Netanyahu to sidestep other Palestinian demands, such as a halt to Jewish settlement expansion. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Israelis work on the construction of a wooden house in the unauthorized Jewish settler outpost of Havat Gilad, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, July 25, 2013. An Israeli cabinet minister said on Thursday that U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations with the Palestinians could begin next week. Israel says new peacemaking would be without preconditions about the borders of a future Palestinian state in territories it occupied in the 1967 Middle East war. But the Palestinians say they want assurances about those borders first. REUTERS/Nir Elias ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
A view of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim is seen near Jerusalem July 25, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. Picture taken July 25, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Israeli border police officers check Palestinian worshippers as they wait to cross through an Israeli checkpoint on their way to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at the Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem, Friday, July 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) ( Mideasr Israel Palestinians )
An Israeli border policeman (top) stands guard as Palestinians cross an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Palestinian Muslim worshipers walk through Israel's controversial separation barrier on the outskirts of the West Bank town of Bethlehem as they undergo security checks by Israeli security forces before heading to Jerusalem to attend Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on July 26, 2013 during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. MUSA AL-SHAER/AFP/Getty Images ( 521638435 )
Palestinian youths, who are not permitted by Israeli security forces to cross into Jerusalem from the West Bank, climb over Israel's controversial barrier in the village of Al-Ram, near Ramallah, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. Israeli security forces allow only Palestinian males over the age of 40 and under the age of 12 to cross into Jerusalem, while females of all ages are allowed to cross. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Palestinian women cross at an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Palestinian women walk past graffiti on Israel's controversial barrier as they walk towards an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Israeli police officers stand guard atop a wall overlooking Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Palestinian worshippers pray in front of the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
A Palestinian worshipper prays in front of the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
A Palestinian holds a picture of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi as some pro-Mursi supporters demonstrate after prayers in front of the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. Mursi is under investigation for an array of charges including murder, the state news agency said on Friday, stoking tensions as Egypt's opposing political camps took to the streets. REUTERS/Ammar Awad ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Palestinians chant slogans during a protest against resuming peace talks with Israel, in Gaza City July 28, 2013. Israel was expected on Sunday to approve releasing more than 100 Arab prisoners as a step to renew stalled peace talks with the Palestinians ahead of plans to convene negotiators in Washington later this week. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Palestinians wave Palestinian and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) flags during a protest against the renewal stalled peace talks with Israel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah July 28, 2013. Israel was expected on Sunday to approve releasing more than 100 Arab prisoners as a step to renew stalled peace talks with the Palestinians ahead of plans to convene negotiators in Washington later this week. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Israeli protesters hold flags, pictures of Israelis who they say were killed by Palestinians, and posters with bloody hands and Hebrew writing that reads, "prison release form," during a demonstration against a proposed release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, outside the Prime Minister Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem, Sunday, July 28, 2013. Netanyahu urged his skeptical coalition partners Sunday to agree to free Palestinian prisoners as part of U.S efforts to resume peace talks. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) ( Mideast Israel Palestinians )
An Israeli holds a picture of a victim of a militant attack during a protest outside the office of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, against the release of Arab prisoners as a step to renew stalled peace talks with the Palestinians, July 28, 2013. Netanyahu on Sunday urged divided rightists in his cabinet to approve the release of 104 Arab prisoners in order to restart peace talk with the Palestinians. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Palestinian police officers stand in front of protesters during a demonstration against the renewal of stalled peace talks with Israel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah July 28, 2013. Israel was expected on Sunday to approve releasing more than 100 Arab prisoners as a step to renew stalled peace talks with the Palestinians ahead of plans to convene negotiators in Washington later this week. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
A woman gestures at a Palestinian riot policeman as protesters demonstrating against the upcoming negotiations between Palestinian leaders and Israel, march towards the headquarters of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on July 28, 2013. A Palestinian official told AFP that the US-brokered renewal of peace talks, stalled since September 2010, would open in Washington this coming week. ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images ( 521700797 )
A Palestinian policeman detains a protester during a demonstration against the renewal of stalled peace talks with Israel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, July 28, 2013. Israel was expected on Sunday to approve releasing more than 100 Arab prisoners as a step to renew stalled peace talks with the Palestinians ahead of plans to convene negotiators in Washington later this week. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
A Palestinian reacts as he is injured when Palestinian policemen clashed with protesters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, July 28, 2013. Some two hundred supporters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine protested against the resuming of the peace talks with Israel. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) ( Mideast Israel Palestinians )
Palestinian women hug each other after hearing that one of their relatives could be among the Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails to be released on July 29, 2013 outside the Red cross headquarters in Gaza city. In a tense session lasting more than five hours, ministers on July 28, 2013 endorsed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to release the 104 prisoners imprisoned before the 1993 Oslo peace accords as a gesture to the Palestinians. MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images ( 521725155 )
Rayya (L), mother of Palestinian Fares Baroud (picture), who has been held prisoner by Israel for 22 years, celebrates after hearing news on the possible release of her son in her house at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City July 28, 2013. Baroud was expected to be among more than 100 Arab prisoners to be released as a step to renew stalled peace talks with the Palestinians ahead of plans to convene negotiators in Washington later this week. Israeli ministers have yet to vote on the releases. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
The mother of Palestinian Ateya Abu Moussa, who has been held prisoner by Israel for 20 years, reacts as she is hugged by her grandson after hearing news on the possible release of her son, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip July 28, 2013. Abu Moussa was expected to be among more than 100 Arab prisoners to be released as a step to renew stalled peace talks with the Palestinians ahead of plans to convene negotiators in Washington later this week. Israeli ministers have yet to vote on the releases. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
Issa Masoud, 75, center, father of Omar, 40, who was arrested in May 1993 for killing an Israeli lawyer, reacts during an interview at his family house at Shati Refugee Camp in Gaza City on July 26, 2013. Israel's Cabinet is to decide Sunday whether to release dozens of long-term Palestinian prisoners as part of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's attempt to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks after five years of diplomatic paralysis. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) ( Mideast Israel Palestinians Resuming Talks )
A general view of the Khan Younis refugee camp is seen in the southern Gaza Strip July 27, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. Picture taken July 27, 2013. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
A Palestinian walks on a field with a donkey and a horse in front of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Efrat, near Bethlehem July 25, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. Picture taken July 25, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
A Palestinian who sells donkey rides to tourists stands at a lookout point on the Mount of Olives as the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, and to Jews as Temple Mount, is seen in the background July 24, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. Picture taken July 24, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ANIMALS) ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )