Abbas: No US clarification over peace talks
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Monday said the United States has not yet presented the demanded clarification related to the resumption of the indirect peace talks with Israel.
The Palestinian state-run news agency Wafa quoted Abbas as saying at the weekly meeting of the Palestinian cabinet in Ramallah on Monday that the Palestinian side has not yet received any clarifications from the United States over the resumption of the peace negotiations with Israel.
The peace talks with Israel had been stalled since December 2008. Abbas and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) insisted that no renewal of talks with Israel until it halts all settlement activities.
However, U.S. peace envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, who met with Abbas last month, talked about a new proposal of holding indirect talks between the two sides mediated by Mitchell.
During his meeting with Mitchell, Abbas requested clarifications from the United States over the proposal, including Israeli actions such as easing security measures and releasing Palestinian prisoners.
"The settlement activities that Israel carries out in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal," Abbas told the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, adding "Israel is the one which obstructs the resumption of the talks."
On Sunday, chief negotiator Saeb Erekat held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Doha, Qatar to receive the U. S. clarification related to its proposal to indirectly resume the peace talks between the two sides.
Erekat was quoted as saying that Clinton expressed hope to him that the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians would be resumed within this year, adding "Clinton reiterated the U.S. support for the two-state solution."
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