Erekat douses White House hopes for direct talks soon
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
By: ICEJ News

Latest news...

In its initial reaction to developments in Washington yesterday, the Palestinian Authority’s chief negotiator Saeb Erekat on Wednesday poured cold water on calls for direct talks with Israel made by US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting at the White House. In an interview with Reuters today, Erekat expressed pessimism about the chances for progress in direct talks with Israel, despite the hopes expressed by Obama, who said he expected direct negotiations to begin "well before" a moratorium on Israeli settlement construction expired at the end of September. "The key to direct talks is in the hand of Prime Minister Netanyahu," Erekat insisted. "The minute he announces a [full] settlement freeze, the minute he announces the resumption of final status [talks] where we left them in December 2008, we will have direct talks." He was referring to Palestinian demands that the talks must begin at the point where previous talks ended when outgoing prime minister Ehud Olmert made a generous, last-minute peace offer that was rejected by PA leader Mahmous Abbas. Meantime, Netanyahu reiterated today that he is ready to take "concrete steps" to benefit the Palestinians, but “we want President Abbas to grasp my hand... to shake it, sit down and negotiate a final settlement of peace…”