Ahead of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's departure for the United States, the Labor party leader met US Middle East envoy George Mitchell on Sunday, and the two expressed hope for direct talks soon between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Following the meeting Barak said that he "expressed his appreciation for the efforts Mitchell is personally putting in despite difficulties in the recent weeks in renewing the talks."
Mitchell repeated Washington's commitment to Israel's security, said that a full range of subjects would be discussed, and expressed hope that talks via intermediaries would turn into direct negotiations as soon as possible.