Middle East
Erekat rules out resuming Israeli-Palestinian talks next week
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-01 05:12
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Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat has on Friday ruled out that the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks would be resumed next week.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier Friday that the proximity, indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians will start "next week."
However, Erekat told Xinhua that what Clinton said was only " predictions," saying "we should not deal with these predictions as a reality."
Erekat said the Palestinians can not decide on going back to the negotiating table before having an Arab nod.
"The decision to go or not to go to the negotiations will be taken during the Arab League (AL)'s follow-up committee which is meeting on Saturday," Erekat said.
In March, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Arabs had approved a U.S. offer to hold indirect talks with Israel. However, an Israeli approval to build 1,600 houses in a Jewish settlement in disputed East Jerusalem raised Palestinian doubts over Israel's seriousness.
The negotiations, which aim at creating a Palestinian statehood alongside Israel, stopped in 2008. For the Palestinians, the settlement activities wear away the land of their future statehood that would be established in Gaza, the West Bank and the eastern part of Jerusalem.
