RAMALLAH, West Bank — Gaps between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators only have widened in seven months and an extension of talks appears unlikely after what is bound to be a missed April 29 deadline for a framework deal, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday.
Abbas is meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on March 17 as the U.S. tries to press both sides to agree on a framework, or the ground rules for future negotiations. Obama held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House earlier this week.
The Abbas aide, Mohammed Ishtayeh, on Thursday laid out the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating positions and the expected U.S. proposal for a framework deal.
For the Palestinians, the biggest obstacle is a new demand — introduced only in this round of negotiations — that they accept Israel as a Jewish state, Ishtayeh said. The Palestine Liberation Organization recognized the state of Israel when peace efforts began two decades ago and Abbas has argued this is sufficient.
