Jerusalem, March 11: Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas will not relaunch negotiations with Israel unless it cancels plans for new illegal settler homes in Palestinian East Jerusalem, his top negotiator said Thursday.
“Abbas has told (Arab League Secretary General Amr) Mussa that he informed (US Vice President Joe) Biden yesterday that he could not restart negotiations without the cancellation of the building of 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said.
“He told Mussa, ‘I am waiting for (US Middle East envoy George) Mitchell to come back next week to give us the answer that the decision has been cancelled’,” Erakat said.
Arab League chief Amr Mussa told reporters that Abbas had told him he would not take part in talks in the current circumstances.
“The Israeli measures must be stopped before any discussion on a resumption of talks, direct or indirect,” between Israel and the Palestinians, the Arab League said a statement.
International pressure mounted on Israel after the project was announced during a visit by Biden to promote the talks.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley confirmed on Wednesday that the United States had raised the issue with Israeli officials.
Crowley, who admitted it was unusual for Washington to condemn such a close ally, told reporters: “We are talking to the government and trying to understand what happened and why.”
The news had already sparked a strong condemnation from Biden, who met Abbas and other senior Palestinian leaders in the West Bank on Wednesday.
It also sparked a row within hardline Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightist-led coalition, with a minister from the centre-left Labour party, a key partner, warning that it may quit.
“Members of the Labour party have more and more difficulty in taking part in a coalition government that they joined with the purpose of relaunching the peace process with the Palestinians,” Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon told army radio.
“The anger of Biden is justified. A grave error has been committed and there is a price to pay,” he added.
Biden had hoped his visit to the Middle East would boost the chances of indirect talks. Instead he found himself dealing with the fall-out from Israel’s decision.
Biden made his feelings clear again during a press conference on Wednesday with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
“As we move forward, the United States will hold both sides accountable for any statements or actions that inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of talks as this decision did,” he said.
Abbas said Israel’s announcement, and an earlier decision to build 112 new homes for illegal settlers in the West Bank, “undermine trust and deal a severe blow to efforts deployed over the past months to start indirect negotiations.”
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the Israeli decision.
“The European Union reiterates that settlements are illegal under international law,” it said, echoing a point made by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon a day earlier.
Several individual member states issued their own messages attacking the Israeli position.
“This is a bad decision at the wrong time,” said British Foreign Secretary David Miliband. “It will give strength to those who argue that Israel is not serious about peace.”
In Washington, State Department spokesman Crowley made it clear that the subject was not going to go away and said Mitchell would take it up when he returned to the region next week.
—Agencies