Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has conditioned upgrading negotiations with Israel to direct talks on a continued halt on West Bank construction.
By Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff
Continuing the construction freeze in the settlements after September 26 would be impossible politically and would bring down the coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos yesterday in Jerusalem.
Moratinos told Netanyahu that the European Union's position was that Israel should continue the freeze.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has conditioned direct talks with Israel on a continued construction freeze.
Jerusalem will be closely monitoring the deliberations of the Arab League foreign ministers meeting today in Cairo. A subcommittee on the Arab peace initiative is expected to announce its continued support for indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians, giving Arab League backing for Abbas' decision not to begin direct talks with Israel. The Palestinian position is that as long as no progress is made in the indirect talks there is no point in beginning direct talks.
Palestinian sources told Haaretz that Abbas seeks unequivocal clarifications from the United States that the framework for direct talks will include a declaration that the Palestinian state will be based on the June 4, 1967 borders and that border adjustments will be based on exchanges of territory. The PA also wants an Israeli declaration that the construction freeze in the settlements will continue and that construction in East Jerusalem will stop.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-continuing-settlement-freeze-will-topple-israel-s-government-1.304671
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