Palestinians refuse to resume talks
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The Palestinians on Thursday refused to resume the direct peace talks with Israel after the United States halted talks with the Israeli government over freezing settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
The Arab League peace initiative follow up committee will meet soon and "we won't accept to hold the peace talks while settlement goes on," Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas told a news conference in Cairo following a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The U.S. announcement that it halted talks with Israel over freezing settlement for three months outraged the Palestinians who insisted that they would not resume negotiation before Israel freezes settlement.
"There are discussions and consultations between the Palestinian leadership and the U.S. administration. Senator George Mitchell will arrive in the region on Monday, and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat went to Washington to hold talks with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton," Abbas said.
Meanwhile, Abbas denied what U.S. officials had announced that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will arrive in Washington soon for holding separate negotiations with each side. He stressed that Erekat is in Washington for consultations and not for talks.
Tayesser Khaled, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official, said in a press statement that the U.S. invitation to Palestinian and Israeli officials to meet in Washington for indirect talks "is a dangerous maneuver," adding that "it shows a conspiracy between the Americans and the Israeli occupation."
"The aim of the U.S. decision to bring Israeli and Palestinian negotiators for separate talks was to block the ongoing international recognition of an independent Palestinian state, mainly after Brazil and Argentina recognized the Palestinian state, " Khaled said.
The PLO official called on the Palestinians to keep rejecting any negotiations with the Israeli government before all the settlement activities on all the occupied Palestinian territories are halted, including east Jerusalem, and to recognize the Palestinian state on 1967 territories.
Earlier this week, Brazil and Argentina announced that they recognize the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967. The Palestinians are expecting more countries to follow the Latin American countries, a diplomatic action that upsets Israel and the United States.
Meanwhile, Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian negotiator, told Xinhua that "although the U.S. still considers settlement illegal, we are sorry to say that the U.S. didn't say clearly that Israel is obstructing the peace by settlement."
"Unfortunately, the U.S. hasn't used all means of possible pressures on the Israeli government and obliges it to halt settlement construction in the Palestinian territories and its policy of Judaizing Jerusalem. Such Israeli behaviors would undermine the entire peace process," Shaath said.
Israeli Radio reported Thursday that the regional committee on planning and construction in Jerusalem announced that it intends to build up 130 units in the settlement of Gilo in east of Jerusalem during next week. The radio reported the municipality of Jerusalem has approved the plan.
"The Israeli plan of constructing more settlement units completely contradicts with the peace requirements," Shaath said, who referred to the Palestinian decision of suspending the peace negotiations with Israel one month after it was restarted in Washington on Sept. 2.
The Palestinians have threatened that they would go for other diplomatic options in case the peace process failed. One of the options is to apply to the UN Security Council and demand an international recognition of an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.
Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip since it seized control of the enclave by force in June 2007, said that the U.S. decision to abandon the talks with Israel over freezing settlement construction "is a slam on the face of the PNA and the negotiations."
"This shows that the U.S. administration is not fair," said Yousef Rezqah, an advisor to deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya. "Abbas should declare the failure of the talks and he should get back to resistance."
