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Palestinians stick to demand for settlement freeze
CAIRO - The Palestinian president stuck by his demand Monday for a complete halt in West Bank settlement building before resuming peace talks with Israel.
- PUBLISHED: Mon 4 Jan 2010, 11:52 PM UPDATED: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 7:32 AM
- By:
- AP
Israeli-Palestinian talks broke off more than a year ago and the two sides are at odds over how to restart negotiations. The issue of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories has been a major sticking point.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently announced a partial freeze on settlement construction. But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected the offer as insincere and insufficient.
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Speaking to reporters after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Abbas said the two were agreed to keep insisting on a complete settlement freeze.
“We have said and are still saying that at the time when settlement construction is stopped and the international legitimacy is recognized, we will be ready to resume the negotiations,” Abbas said.
Top Egyptian officials head to London and Washington this week to discuss ideas on reaching a comprehensive peace deal. Egypt has been attempting to bridge the gaps between Israel and the Palestinians. Following Netanyahu's talks with Mubarak a week ago, Egypt's foreign minister said Netanyahu appeared serious about resuming negotiations.
A Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to discuss ongoing policy, said the ideas included all the major disagreements that have scuttled talks before - final borders, settlements and the status of east Jerusalem.
Mohammed Dahlan, a top official in Abbas' Fatah party, said there was “a base of some optimism.”
“We value the Egyptian efforts and hope these efforts will be concluded in a plan or package,” he said.
Abbas said Netanyahu's ideas for restarting talks would be discussed during the Egyptian team's visit.
“I don't want to judge ideas that look foggy now. They will be judged after the Egyptian delegation returns from Washington ... and things get clearer then,” he said.
Speaking to his Likud faction at Israel's parliament, Netanyahu renewed his call to restart talks.
“I believe that negotiations about starting the negotiations have delayed us enough. In recent weeks, I have found that there is a certain change in the climate, and we hope that there is a readiness that will advance the political process,” he said.
Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Egypt still believes Netanyahu is serious.
“Our position is that the (Netanyahu's) ideas are taking the Israeli position forward,” Aboul Gheit told reporters. “This is a protracted process and needs patience, clarity and prudence so that the Palestinians do not find themselves in a difficult position.”