JERUSALEM — A small group of ultra-right-wing Israelis marched through a volatile neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Sunday, arousing passions over the future of the contested city as an American envoy wrapped up an inconclusive three-day visit aimed at getting peace talks underway.
The Obama administration’s Middle East envoy, George J. Mitchell, met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders over the weekend in an effort to reach understandings that will allow the start of indirect, American-brokered negotiations.
Officials revealed few details about the discussions, but Mr. Mitchell described them as “positive and productive” and said he would return to the region next week.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that Israel and the United States wanted to begin the peace process “immediately” and that its prospects would become clear “in the coming days.”
“The feeling is that we are back on track,” said an Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
But the Palestinians’ agreement to join the talks still depends on backing from the Arab League. After meeting Mr. Mitchell on Saturday, Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, suggested that any announcement of talks might take another week or two.
The peace efforts were derailed last month after the Israeli announcement of plans for 1,600 new apartments in a Jewish neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The Palestinians have demanded an end to Israeli settlement building, including in East Jerusalem, which they claim as their future capital, as a precondition to direct talks.
Mr. Netanyahu has rejected that demand, and the announcement, during a visit here by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., strained Israel’s relations with the United States.
But on Sunday it was another neighborhood of East Jerusalem that illustrated the complexities and conflicting interests that define the city. About 40 far-right nationalists marched through the Wadi Hilwe section of Silwan, a predominantly Arab neighborhood, waving Israeli flags in a demonstration of Israeli sovereignty.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/world/middleeast/26mideast.html