Israel, U.S. secretly working to bridge gaps in peace process

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Israel and the United States have conducted behind-the-scenes negotiations in recent days in an effort to find a formula that would bridge their differences over peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and America's demand that Israel halt construction in East Jerusalem for at least four months.

According to a senior Obama administration official, the top Middle East policy specialist at the White House, Dan Shapiro, arrived in Israel yesterday on a secret visit. Shapiro's delegation also included David Hale, who serves as deputy to U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell and is permanently based in Israel.

Shapiro and Hale held lengthy talks yesterday at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem with the prime minister's envoy, Yitzhak Molcho, and Netanyahu adviser Ron Dermer. The talks will continue today.

Neither the White House nor the Prime Minister's Office have officially announced the talks or even Shapiro's arrival in Israel. Officially, total silence is being maintained, and the Prime Minister's Office therefore refused to comment yesterday.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1164583.html

Well, thank goodness this is still under the covers. Lord knows what would happen if anyone found out.