Abbas tells US envoy Hale: No talks without freeze
PA president says Palestinians prepared to work with Quartet on all core issues, urges US Administration to reconsider its opposition to Palestinian application for full membership in the UN.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHAbbas R 311(photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday told US envoy David Hale that the Palestinians would not return to the negotiating table with Israel unless the Israeli government froze construction in all settlements and east Jerusalem neighborhoods and accepted the pre-1967 lines as the basis for a two-state solution.Abbas also told Hale that the Palestinians are prepared to work with the Quartet members - the US, EU, UN and Russia - on all the core issues like Jerusalem, borders, refugees and security, said Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat.RELATED:Dennis Ross legacy: Iran isolated, peace missingAbbas vows to push ahead with UN membership bid
Erekat said the during the meeting in Ramallah, Abbas also urged the US Administration to reconsider its opposition to the Palestinian application for full membership in the UN.Abbas, according to Erekat, stressed that the Palestinian statehood bid was not aimed at delegitimizing or isolating Israel, but to achieve the two-state solution.The meeting between Abbas and Hale came on the eve of talks between PA officials and representatives of the Quartet who are seeking to persuade Israelis and Palestinians to resume the peace talks.
