Israelis, Palestinians hold first meeting with Kerry

Israeli chief negotiator Tzipi Livni and her Palestinian counterpart Saeb Erakat sat opposite top US diplomat John Kerry early Tuesday to share a traditional Muslim iftar meal in the Thomas Jefferson room at the State Department.  The US secretary of state first met with the teams separately. At around 1500 GMT, he will make a statement to reporters accompanied by the two negotiators. Present too was Martin Indyk, named earlier as the US special envoy to the talks. In Cairo, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said that there will not be a single Israeli soldier or civilian in a future Palestinain state.