U.S. to hold separate peace talks with Israel, Palestinians
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A senior Palestinian official revealed on Wednesday that the United States informed the Palestinian leadership that it wants to hold separate peace talks with Israel and the Palestinians.
"We received an oral letter from the American Administration expressing its desire to hold separate talks with Israel and the Palestinians over the peace process," Yasser Abed Rabbo, Secretary General of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee told Voice of Palestine Radio.
Abed Rabbo, who is accompanying Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in an official visit to Greece said that Abbas received the American letter late on Tuesday night.
"According to the letter, the U.S. wishes to start peace talks with each side separately to discuss the means of getting the peace process out of the impasse and to discuss permanent status issues," said Abed Rabbo.
Abed Rabbo held the Israeli government fully responsible for obstructing the U.S. efforts to freeze settlement construction for a limited period of time and enable the direct peace talks over permanent status issue to resume.
"The Palestinian leadership would debate the American proposal and see if the U.S. will be able to achieve success within the coming period," Abed Rabbo said.
The Palestinians suspended the direct peace talks with Israel in October 2, one month after it was launched in Washington, in protest to Israel's reject to freeze settlement construction in the Palestinian territories.
They threatened that if the peace talks fail, they would use other diplomatic options, one of them is to apply to the international community and demand a recognition of an independent Palestinian state on 1967 territories.
