Abbas tells Mitchell: Settlement freeze essential

[ProgressiveMuslim]

Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – President Mahmoud Abbas told a top US peace envoy that he will not return to the negotiating table until Israel halts the expansion of West Bank settlements.

Abbas made the statements Monday evening in an Amman meeting with George Mitchell, US President Barack Obama’s envoy to the Middle East, according to reports. His statement was a reiteration of his already announced stance on the matter.

"The president made it clear during the meeting that peace cannot be achieved with the continuation of the settlement

"We do not put conditions for resuming negotiations, but we want the talks resumed on the basis of the provisions of the road map, which stipulates the cessation of all forms of settlement activity in the Palestinian territories," he also said.

"Mitchell emphasized during today's meeting that there is no change in the U.S. attitude, which rejects the Israeli settlements," he added, according to the newspaper.

The meeting followed a turbulent weekend in which US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed support for the Israeli view that a settlement freeze should not be a precondition for renewed negotiations, and then appeared to reverse that view activity," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told reporters after the meeting, as quoted by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

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