Palestinian president says he won’t give in to pressure for direct talks with Israel
By APThursday, July 29, 2010
Abbas resists push for direct talks with Israel
CAIRO — The Palestinian president is refusing to move to direct peace talks with Israel until it agrees to a complete halt in settlement construction and accepts a Palestinian state in territories seized in the 1967 Middle East war.
Mahmoud Abbas is under strong U.S. pressure to restart face-to-face talks that were frozen in 2008.
His refusal to give in comes as Arab League foreign ministers meet in Cairo Thursday to set out the 22-member bloc’s position.
Abbas says progress should first be made in indirect talks taking place since May under U.S. mediation. Specifically, he wants to see movement on the issue of borders for a future Palestinian state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to be pinned down on a framework for negotiations.
