Israel, Palestinians Begin Security Talks: RadioIsraeli and Palestinian officials Wednesday evening resumed their security meeting at an undisclosed location in Israel, the first in several weeks aimed to reduce violence between the two sides, Israel Radio reported.Avi Dichter, head of Israel's General Security Service (Shin Bet), his Palestinian counterpart Amin Al-Hindi, chief of Palestinian Intelligence Agency, and a representative of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency participated in the meeting, according to the report. Security coordination between the two sides was cut off after the Israeli-Palestinian violence broke out last September. Over 430 people have been killed, most of them Palestinians, and 15,000 others wounded since then. The security talks were resumed after Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres had a successful meeting with Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat and Minister of International Cooperation Nabil Shaath Wednesday morning in the Greek capital Athens. Although Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reiterated Wednesday that the official peace talks will not be renewed until the violence ends, it is highly possible that such security talks will help reduce the level of violence on the ground. |
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