Palestinian leaders defer decision on peace talks

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/19/palestinians-defer-talks-abbas-kerry-israel

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Palestinians put off a decision on Thursday on whether to resume peace talks, with a senior official saying Israel needed to meet their terms before negotiations could resume.

The Palestinian stance suggested the visit of the US secretary of state, John Kerry, was likely to end inconclusively on Friday. An aide said he would fly home after talking to both sides once more.

After two long meetings between the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and fellow Palestine Liberation Organisation leaders in Ramallah it became clear they felt unable to resume talks, but were open to further discussions with Kerry.

"[Palestinian chief negotiator] Saeb Erekat will meet Mr Kerry in Amman on Friday and he will tell him the return to negotiations should be based on the two-state solution and the 1967 borders and that Israel should accept and recognise that," said a senior Palestinian official close to the debate.

"Saeb will also say the Palestinian leadership sought more clarifications on Kerry's proposal in relation to the issues of prisoners and settlements," he said, referring to the Palestinians' desire for Israel to release Palestinian prisoners and to stop building Jewish settlements on occupied land.

In Washington, President Barack Obama telephoned tbe Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, to urge him to keep working with Kerry "to resume negotiations with the Palestinians as soon as possible", the White House said.

Obama's call appeared to signal the White House was putting some of its muscle behind Kerry's push to resume peace talks that broke down in 2010.

Netanyahu, whose rightist coalition government includes parties that back Jewish settlers on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, says he wants to start peace talks immediately, but without preconditions.

Kerry has given no details on where he believes the two sides might give ground, although after talks with Abbas in Jordan on Wednesday, he said the gaps had narrowed "very significantly".

The State Department on Thursday played down reports that an agreement was at hand, saying there were no plans to announce a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks.

A senior State Department official said Kerry would consult both sides again on Friday – it was not clear whether that would be in person or on the telephone – before going home.

"It is appropriate and encouraging that there is such a serious debate about these issues," the senior US official said in a brief emailed comment as the Palestinian discussions continued. "We understand that there are many strongly held views and appreciate efforts to find a basis to move forward."

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