Abbas slows decision to continue peace talks
New construction threatens negotiations
JERUSALEM – The Palestinian president said Monday he would wait at least a week before deciding whether to quit Mideast peace talks, giving U.S. mediators precious time to broker a compromise after Israel refused to extend its 10-month moratorium on new West Bank settlement construction.
President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the newly launched negotiations if Israel resumes building in the settlements. But with the stakes so high, Abbas said during a visit to Paris that he would not make any hasty decisions. He said he would consult with the Palestinian leadership before discussing the matter with representatives of the 22-member Arab League next Monday.
“We will not have any quick reactions,” he said at a news conference standing beside French President Nicolas Sarkozy. “After this chain of meetings, we will be able to put out a position that clarifies the Palestinian and Arab opinion on this issue now that Israel has refused to freeze settlements.”
A senior Palestinian official said the Palestine Liberation Organization’s 18-member decision making body would meet Wednesday or Thursday to determine how to proceed. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing internal Palestinian deliberations.
The construction restrictions that the Israeli government ordered expired at midnight Sunday with no sign Israel was heeding U.S. and Palestinian pressure to keep the curbs in place.
That threw the peace talks, which only restarted three weeks ago, into doubt. But the Americans said they were still working with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to find a formula that would keep the negotiations alive.
Abbas on Monday urged Israel to extend the settlement slowdown for three or four more months to allow for a discussion of “fundamental issues” in negotiations.
In Cairo, an Arab League official said Arab foreign ministers were expected to endorse whatever position Abbas took. He spoke on condition of anonymity because no decision had been made.
Immediately after the restrictions expired at midnight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed to Abbas to keep negotiating.
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom appealed to the Palestinians to keep talking. “I think if they continue to negotiate with us, we can finally reach an agreement,” he said, expressing regret that the talks did not resume earlier in the 10-month settlement slowdown period.
In Washington, the State Department said envoy George Mitchell would return to the region today for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders – presumably part of the effort to find a compromise formula over the settlement issue.