Israel says talks to fail as US envoy visits

Indirect talks with the Palestinians are doomed to failure, Israel said yesterday just hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to meet the US envoy over the stalled peace process.
"This won't work ... indirect talks, proximity talks will not yield results," Intelligence Minister and deputy prime minister Dan Meridor said in remarks published on the front page of the Jerusalem Post.
"I hope, yes, but I think not. Everyone will want to pull America to their own side, and they won't get closer, they will get further apart," he told the English-language daily.
"I think we need to go quickly to direct talks."
US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who arrived in the region on Monday, was expected to meet with Netanyahu at around 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) at the Israeli premier's Jerusalem office to discuss the planned start of indirect talks.
He will then meet with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Friday, with the indirect talks widely expected to start shortly afterwards.
Discussions between the two focused on "preparing suitable conditions" for the indirect talks, the Egyptian official news agency MENA reported.
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said: "We hope and expect to formally move forward with proximity talks later this week."
However, Abbas on Tuesday expressed doubts about the planned launch of talks after a West Bank mosque went up in flames in an incident he blamed on Jewish settlers, and ultimately, the Israeli government.