Direct talks will not be resumed with Israel until progress is made during US-brokered proximity talks on the issues of borders and security, President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday evening.
“We hope to make progress that will enable us to launch serious negotiations leading to a two-state solution before it is too late,” Abbas said during a celebration at the the Cultural Palace in Ramallah, marking the Prophet Mohammad’s Night Journey.
US President Barack Obama urged the two sides this week to resume direct talks by September. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met Obama in Washington on Tuesday, said he believed direct talks would begin soon.
“We chose to start with borders and security. We proposed our vision and said that if progress can be made, we move to direct negotiations. However, if there will be no progress on these two issues, these negotiations will be a waste of time," Abbas said.
The president added that US-mediated indirect talks with Israel were agreed to “in order to reach appropriate situation to resume direct negotiations. We said we were ready to do that if we had positive reactions from the Israeli government especially with borders and security.”
Israel must evacuate all settlements in the final status deal, he said, adding that Jerusalem is facing “serious violations and aggression.”
“Lands are being confiscated, homes are being demolished and identities are being revoked. We refuse all these procedures and will face them with all power we have.”
Speaking of Israel’s ID card and residency rights revocation policy, affecting four Palestinian members of parliament, Abbas said “We will not agree to any Jerusalemite being displaced from his land. That is why we firmly opposed the Israeli decision to deport Jerusalemite lawmakers.”
On Friday, PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo said the Palestinian Authority is still waiting for a response on questions put forward to Israel during the current round of US-mediated talks, he said, adding that US Middle East envoy George Mitchell is due in the region in 10 days to relay answers.
“We will not get involved in negotiations unless we know where they lead,” he said, adding that the PLO requires a clear reference for talks, with issues on the agenda clearly explained, as well as a time line.
"We will not start direct negotiations that could last for more than ten years," Abed Rabbo added.
Direct talks with Israel were broken off in December 2008 as Israel launched its Operation Cast Lead against Gaza. The PLO and the PA have maintained that focal issues to talks, which include borders and security, should be addressed by Israel before Palestinian leaders return to the negotiating table.
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