PA not offered to prolong talks with Israel: Abbas
In a Thursday news conference with UK Prime Minister David Cameron in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, Abbas said talks with Israel are slated to end by the deadline, adding that the two sides have “never discussed prolonging the negotiations at all, nor was it offered to us.”
The Palestinian Authority and the Tel Aviv regime have been locked in the US-mediated negotiations which resumed in July 2013. The talks are set to end by April 29.
Since the resumption of the direct talks, Palestinians have objected to a number of issues, including the Israeli regime’s illegal settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Abbas further said the United States had yet to present a framework for a deal between Israelis and Palestinians, as the deadline ending nine months of negotiations approaches.
“When the framework is presented to us, we’ll give our opinion on it,” the PA chief stated.
The British premier, for his part, highlighted the “mistrust” and “serious disagreements on vital issues” preventing a deal between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli regime.
Cameron further said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would “have to take difficult, unpalatable and sometimes unpopular decisions” in order to reach a deal with the Palestinian Authority.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said it is a “mistake” for Israel to insist that the Palestinians officially recognize it as a “Jewish state,” adding that the recognition of the regime should not be a precondition for the talks.
On March 12, Abbas said no peace would prevail unless the demands of Palestinians are met under a future agreement with Tel Aviv. He made the comments shortly after Netanyahu ruled out any deal with Palestinians unless they recognize Israel as a ‘Jewish state’.
MKA/HMV
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