Reuters first to report U.S. invites Israel and Palestine to peace talks

Reuters correspondents in Brussels, Jerusalem and Martha’s Vineyard combined to break the news on Aug 19/20 that Israel and the Palestinians would be invited to start direct peace talks in the United States on September 2. Other news outlets, including the New York Times, sourced their stories to Reuters. The Reuters team managed to get hold of a draft statement by the Middle East Quartet of the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia that laid out details for the invitation to peace talks. The document was missing one crucial detail – the date of the talks. Officials from the Quartet spoke by phone to agree that crucial element and when they ended their call – in the early hours of the European day on Aug 20 – Reuters broke the story that all media were chasing. The Quartet issued its formal statement, confirming the Reuters story, several hours later.