A Palestinian official on Tuesday denied reports that Washington had suggested a summit meeting on stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in Egypt.
"This is untrue at all," said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator. "From time to time, Israel releases trial balloons to evade obligations the international community wants it to meet," he told Voice of Palestine radio.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israel Radio reported that a meeting comprising the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Israel, Jordan and Egypt would be held in Egypt next month and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would also attend the meeting.
The report also said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected to participate in any meeting along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the latter stops building Jewish settlements and eases movement of the Palestinians as goodwill gestures.
The negotiations, intended to settle decades of conflict by allowing a Palestinian state alongside Israel, stopped in December 2008. The Palestinians cite Israel's building of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which the PNA viewed as a future capital, as the reason that prevents progress in talks.
The approval of building 1,600 houses for Jews in East Jerusalem in March thwarted a U.S. proposal to hold proximity negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
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