Palestinians not yet decided on U.S.-mediated talks with Israel
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A senior Fatah official on Monday denied reports that President Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to restart indirect negotiations with Israel under the mediation of U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell.
"The Palestinian side is still waiting for answers to questions it submitted to Mitchell," Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior Fatah official who is escorting Abbas on his visit to Japan, told Voice of Palestine radio.
The Palestinian questions included the White House's positions on the borders of the future Palestinian state, settlements expansion and the objects of the peace process, according to al- Ahmad.
Mitchell was supposed to respond to the Palestinians within a week, said al-Ahmad, noting that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) may invite an Arab League committee to formulate the Arab response to the U.S. proposals.
The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported recently that Abbas has agreed to resume talks with Israel, adding that U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell will mediate the talks.
Mitchell, during his latest visit to the Middle East, proposed that the two sides return to peace talks, however, the PNA insisted on clarification on some major issues.
The negotiations between Israel and the PNA stopped in December 2008, when Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip. Since then, Abbas has insisted that Israel stop building settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as the preliminary condition for resuming the talks.
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