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ISRAEL & PALESTINE
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has appealed to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to ‘use [the] opportunity’ of the newly formed Israeli unity government to rekindle stalled peace talks. No direct (face to face) negotiations have taken place since Netanyahu took office in 2009, except for brief talks in September 2010. Palestinians have insisted that Israel stop settlement activity in East Jerusalem; Israel has so far continued settlement construction in the area, and home demolitions in occupied Arab neighbourhoods. 1
In another development, China’s Special Envoy to the Middle East has stated that the China-Arab Cooperation Forum can play a significant role in boosting Arab-Chinese ties. Wu Sike announced this after a meeting with President Abbas. Wu said the forum would also push forward the peace process at a crucial time. The next forum meeting is scheduled to be held in Tunis at the end of May this year. 2