Gaza, December 12: The Palestinian Authority (PA) has criticized the US administration for failing to pressure its closest ally Israel to freeze its settlement activities in the West Bank.
In a statement on Saturday, Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Yasser Abed Rabbo said Washington should have condemned Tel Aviv for the failure of the latest direct talks between the PA and Israel.
Abed Rabbo added that the right of return for Palestinian refugees still tops on the PA’s list of priorities, urging the United States to stop trying to sell them “old merchandise.”
The remarks came in response to comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday when she blamed both Israelis and Palestinians for the failure of the US-sponsored direct negotiations.
The Palestinian Authority attended face-to-face talks launched on September 2 in Washington in the face of vehement opposition from other Palestinian factions who cited fears of more concessions in favor of Israel.
The direct talks, however, broke off in no time after Tel Aviv refused to renew a partial 10-month settlement freeze which did not include East al-Quds (Jerusalem) and allowed so-called community centers (schools, synagogues, etc) across the West Bank.
The Obama administration said earlier this week that it had abandoned efforts to get Israel to extend the moratorium which expired on September 26.
The Palestinians maintain their long-held demand for a full settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank, including the illegally-annexed East al-Quds, which they see as the capital of their future Palestinian state.
Palestinians argue that Israel’s settlement expansion projects pursue further occupation and annexation of their land which would automatically make the establishment of an independent Palestinian state unfeasible.
——–Agencies