Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Kerry to Meet Abbas Again in Peace Talk Push U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will hold a second day of talks Thursday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as part of efforts to forge a framework Middle East peace accord. A senior State Department official said Kerry and Mr. Abbas "had an in-depth discussion about the core issues" after dinner Wednesday and "agreed it would be beneficial to continue that discussion." U.S. officials say the talks are at an important point, ahead of an April 29 deadline to find an agreement between Mr. Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The renewed talks have made little progress since the two sides agreed to re-open the process last July on a nine-month timeline following a three-year break. During initial meetings, Israel agreed to a prisoner release, while the Palestinians dropped their demand for Israel to stop settlement construction before negotiations continue. But Palestinian and Israeli leaders have disagreed publicly over borders, security, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem in a possible two-state solution. If a deal were to be reached between Israel the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, it is not clear how this would affect the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas, which has rejected the talks. __________________________________________________________________ [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-to-meet-abbas-again-in-peace-ta lk-push/1855326.html References 1. http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-to-meet-abbas-again-in-peace-talk-push/1855326.html