The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
March 8, 2010

Biden Heads to Israel as Palestinians Agree to Indirect Talks
-------------------------------------------------------------



Vice President Joe Biden is arriving in Israel today, one day after the
Palestinians agreed to indirect talks with Israel for the first time
since the Israeli assault on Gaza. Biden is the most senior US official
to visit Israel since President Obama took office in January 2009.
Earlier today, Israel approved the construction of 112 new homes in a
Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank despite a partial moratorium
on such construction. The Israeli group Peace Now criticized the new
project, saying it would “widen the gap with the Palestinians and the
two-state solution, which risks becoming obsolete.” The Palestinians
have warned that further settlement growth threatened the peace process
and future talks. US Special Envoy George Mitchell praised the
resumption of the talks.

George Mitchell: “We look forward to what we hope will be a credible,
serious, constructive process that will accomplish the objective which
we all share: comprehensive peace in the Middle East.”



.