Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated following a Sunday meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan, that he will not return to the negotiations table unless Israel halts its settlement activities in the occupied territories. He said that he will continue deliberations and talks with the United States in order to resolve this issue.
Abbas added that after U.S. Middle East Peace Envoy, George Mitchell, visited the region and held talk with Israeli and Palestinian officials, it became clear that Israel has no intention to renew the moratorium on settlement activities .
“This is a real obstacle to peace talks”, Abbas said, “We cannot continue the talks with Israel under these conditions, we have to coordinate our next move with the Arab countries”.
Meanwhile, king Abdullah of Jordan, said that Amman will continue to support the Palestinians and will push for the two-state solution. He called on Israel to stop all of its unilateral activities that affect the future of peace talks.
He also called on the United States to act on dissolving all obstacles that obstruct peace talks, especially Israel’s settlement activities, and added that more tension in the Middle East pushes the region into more conflicts and wars.
Abbas and Abdullah agreed to continue their talks and consultations, and said that they will continue their coordination with other Arab countries and the International Community.
Yasser Abed-Rabbu, secretary of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Chief Palestinian negotiator, Dr. Saeb Erekat, presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rodeina, and Palestinian ambassador to Jordan, Ata Khairy, attended the meeting.
On the Jordanian side, head of the Jordanian Royal Court, Nasser Al Lawzy, the king’s advisor, Ayman Al Safady, and Jordan’s Foreign Minister, Nasser Jouda, accompanied king Abdullah during the meeting.
