U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said “all the core issues are on the table” in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians that have intensified.
A meeting Monday in Jerusalem centered on the issue of sharing water resources, an unnamed Palestinian official told the French news agency AFP. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have met three times in the past four days.
Kerry confirmed on Monday in Paris that negotiators have met 13 times since the end of July, when U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians were restarted after a hiatus of several years.
“The pace has intensified, all the core issues are on the table and they have been meeting with increased intensity,” said Kerry, who is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Rome on Wednesday.
Kerry announced Monday that Qatar would provide $150 million in debt relief to the Palestinian Authority, saying that “for everybody to live up to the challenges of making peace, we have to support them.”
Also Monday, Kerry briefed the 22-member Arab League on the progress of the peace negotiations.