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Erekat: No compromise on settlements

05 November 2010 03:15 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Palestinians insist they will not change their position on the settlement halt before resuming US-sponsored talks, as the Israeli prime minister is set to visit the US, APA reports quoting presstv.ir website.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat stated that although they may extend the deadline set by the Arab League for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to return to negotiations, their core demand for regime to stop settlement expansions in the West Bank holds firm, Reuters reported.

"The key is in Netanyahu’s hands," Erekat told reporters after a meeting with US Mideast envoy George Mitchell in Washington. "The choice is his: settlements or peace. He cannot have both."

Netanyahu plans to visit the United States next week to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden, following a major defeat of the ruling Democratic Party in midterm elections that led to their loss of Congressional control.

"I am very involved in finding the way forward and I think that we will be able to do so," Clinton claimed on Thursday.

"We are working on a non-stop basis with our Israeli and Palestinian friends to design a way forward," she added.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak had claimed earlier this week that talks with the Palestinian Authority would move forward due to the change in the US government following the midterm elections.

Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu began the direct talks in September, but failed to reach any agreements after Tel Aviv refused to extend a partial moratorium on settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Next week’s meeting in Washington is another chance for US officials to persuade Israel to return to the table by agreeing to extend the moratorium on settlements.

According to reports, Israel has begun building at least 544 settlement units since the 10-month freeze expired at the end of September.