Across Asia: Israel

Palestinian talks foreseen

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expects no breakthroughs at a meeting this week with US peace envoy George Mitchell, though he hopes talks with the Palestinians can resume within two months, a spokesman said yesterday.

A conservative in power since March, Netanyahu has resisted Western pressure to freeze Jewish settlements on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood. The dispute has opened a rare rift between Israel and its top ally, the United States.