The Palestinian Authority threatened Thursday to pull out from the
Jordanian-sponsored talks with Israel if no progress is achieved by January
26.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas told Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr
Store that the Palestinians are prepared to resume direct peace negotiations
with Israel once the Israeli government halts construction in the settlements
and east Jerusalem and accepts the two-state solution.
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Israel,
PA reps to meet again in Amman
'PA
joined talks unwillingly, doesn’t want peace'A PA official in
Ramallah said that Abbas briefed the Norwegian minister on the outcome of the
last two meetings in Amman between PLO and Israeli officials.
According
to the official, Abbas stressed that unless Israel accepted the two Palestinian
demands, he would not agree to the resumption of the direct talks.
Abbas
said that the talks in Jordan would continue with the hope of narrowing the gap
between the two sides before January 26, when the three-month deadline set by
members of the Quartet expires.
Last September, the Quartet, which
consists of the US, EU, UN and Russia, gave the two sides three months to come
forth with proposals that would pave the way for the resumption of the direct
negotiations.
The official told
The Jerusalem Post that the continued
construction in the settlements and recent plans to build new homes and
confiscate lands in east Jerusalem “prove that Israel is not serious about
resuming the peace process.”
The official said that the Palestinians
would be forced to withdraw from the talks in Amman “if Israel insisted on
pursuing its current policies, which jeopardize the peace process.”
The
PA Foreign Ministry Thursday called on the Quartet and the international
community to intervene with Israel to stop the continued construction in the
settlements and east Jerusalem.
The ministry released a statement saying
Israel’s “provocations and aggression against Jerusalem and the occupied
Palestinian territories would sabotage all efforts to resume the peace
talks.”
The ministry said that Israel’s actions leave the Palestinians
with no choice but to pursue their efforts to seek unilateral UN recognition of
a Palestinian state. The ministry also threatened to pursue “Israeli war
criminals and have them prosecuted before international courts and
forums.”
Hana Amireh, member of the PLO executive committee, said that
Israel has yet to respond to Palestinian proposals regarding security and
borders.
The proposals were presented to Israeli envoy Yitzhak Molcho
during the Amman meetings.
Amireh said that Israel was “not serious”
about the talks.
He confirmed that a third meeting would be held in
Jordan between the two sides in the coming days. The Palestinians won’t agree to
continue the talks after January 26 unless Israel changes its policies, he said.