The status of Jerusalem has become one of the major issues hindering the Middle East peace process. The U.S. announced earlier this week the first round of Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks, which are brokered by Washington and expected to pave the way for direct negotiations between the two Middle East rivals.
The Palestinians have insisted that they will not return to the direct negotiation table before Israel completely stops its building activities in Jewish settlements in the West Bank as well as in East Jerusalem.