PA officials reject Netanyahu's call to resume talks immediately

Senior Palestinian Authority officials on Tuesday rejected Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's statements from his Monday night address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, when he said, "We are prepared to resume peace negotiations without any delay, without any preconditions." Speaking to Israel Radio in Arabic, chief PA Negotiator Saeb Erekat suggested asking Netanyahu whether he would be willing to begin negotiations on Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees and borders from the point in which the talks ended. Yasser Abed Rabbo, a top aide to PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his unofficial spokesman, said that Netanyahu is playing with words and trying to mislead the world in order to create a reality and continue building in the West Bank settlements, Israel Radio reported.