Middle East boost as Palestine Lliberation Oraganisation agrees to join talks

The movement's executive committee, meeting in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, approved the "proximity" talks, which are expected to be mediated by US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, the man who helped bring peace to Northern Ireland.

The Arab League last week approved four months of indirect negotiations. Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the PLO committee and veteran peace negotiator, said: "The negotiations will take one form: shuttling between president Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu."

America has sought to revive the peace process, calling the Middle East conflict a "vital national security interest". However, many doubt whether the latest US effort can succeed where years of diplomacy have failed.

A US official said last week he expected the indirect talks to move forward before Mitchell's departure from the region tomorrow.

The US proposed the indirect talks as a way to break an impasse over Jewish settlement construction on Israeli-occupied land where the Palestinians aim to establish a state alongside Israel.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have not been held for 18 months. Netanyahu has already indicated his agreement to an indirect talks format though Israel has also said it would prefer to conduct the negotiations directly.

Abbas had refused any more negotiations with Israel until it fully halted settlement construction in both East Jerusalem and the West Bank, part of the territories where the Palestinians aim to found their state.

Netanyahu announced in November a partial freeze in West Bank building, but ruled out any halt to East Jerusalem construction.

However, Abbas says he has US assurances that Israel will not carry out any "provocative measures" during the negotiations, taking that to mean it will hold off commencing new building work in East Jerusalem or announcing new tenders there. Israeli officials have denied agreeing to a freeze in Jerusalem building.