Netanyahu, Abbas head to Washington for peace talks

Direct talks between Palestinian and Israeli leaders open tomorrow morning.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas are en route to Washington today to engage in the first direct peace talks between the two parties in more than 18 months. The negotiations have already been threatened by disagreements over Israeli settlement construction in Jerusalem. A ten-month moratorium on building settlements in Palestinian-claimed parts of the city is set to expire on September 26, and Netanyahu has said he has no intention of extending it. Abbas threatened to walk away from negotiations over the settlement issue but appears to have softened. The talks will begin with a ceremony presided over by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton tomorrow.