RAMALLAH, West Bank: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday invited Palestinians to peace talks, but Palestinian leaders rebuffed the call, saying Israel must first halt all West Bank settlement construction.
“There is no reason why we can’t meet, the Palestinian Authority president and I, anywhere in Israel, and since we are in Beersheba, I say, let’s meet here,” Netanyahu said at the start of a Cabinet meeting. A Beersheba meeting between former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1979 led to a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
“The Palestinian population living next to us has a basic right to live with peace, security and prosperity,” Netanyahu said. “In recent weeks, we have made great efforts to ease their lives. We’ve removed many roadblocks, we have decided to increase the operating hours of the Allenby Bridge (on the border between West Bank and Jordan) for more goods, and I decided to advance a series of projects with the Palestinians to promote peace.
“But all these efforts can only bring us to a certain point, and the results will be multiplied by the dozen if there is cooperation from the other side. Therefore, I call on the Palestinian and Arab countries’ leaders, let’s meet. Let’s cooperate. We can bring many investors.”
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that if Netanyahu wanted to resume final status negotiations, the Palestinians had no problem with that, but that first the agenda of the meeting had to be set.
For his part, Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Yasser Abed Rabbo said Netanyahu’s call on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to renew talks should be accompanied at least by a serious expression of support for the US-backed road map peace plan. He said: “Netanyahu is only interested in appearing like a peace proponent and portraying the Palestinians as subordinates.”
Erekat told the official Voice of Palestine Radio that Abbas has sent a letter to US President Barack Obama in which he reiterated the Palestinian demand for a peace agreement based on an independent Palestinian state within the June 1967 borders. Abbas stressed in his letter that the Jewish settlements in the West Bank were an obstacle to the peace process.
Erekat said that the Palestinians would totally reject any deal between Israel and the US that would include the continuation of construction in the settlements. “There is no interim solution to the settlement issue — either the settlement activity stops, or it doesn’t.” “The message is clear: Settlements should stop immediately,” Erekat added.
— With input from Hisham Abu Taha
