by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly
RAMALLAH, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Despite a U.S. sponsored Israeli-Palestinian meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Tuesday insisted that peace talks with Israel won't be resumed unless the latter halts settlement activities.
Nabil Abu Rdineh, spokesman of the Palestinian presidency said in a written statement sent to reporters that halting the Israeli settlement activities in the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, "is a clear Palestinian condition and a stance that would never be changed."
Earlier on Tuesday U.S. President Barack Obama held bilateral talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before a three-way meeting including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was held in New York. The meeting was held upon Obama's personal request.
Abu Rdineh has conditioned that if Israel and the United States want to see the peace talks resumed, "all settlement activities including the natural growth must be halted."
"Even if the talks are resumed, it had to focus on the six permanent status issues which are Jerusalem, refugees, borders, settlements, water and security, but the first essential issue is Jerusalem," said Abu Rdineh.
He clarified that the PNA would continue its contacts with the U.S. President Obama and his peace envoy "in order to create the proper conditions to get back to the negotiating table."
The Palestinians and Israelis played down having fruitful results out of the three-way meeting held in New York earlier.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Quriea, member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a statement sent to reporters that any talks on resuming the bilateral negotiations with Israel amid the continuation of its settlement activities "will be just for public relations."
He said after the end of the three-way meeting that the bilateral talks had been exhausted "while there were still wide and clear gaps, which can never be bridged through a bilateral process," referring to more U.S. pressure and interference in resuming the stalled peace process.
"The issues of the permanent status talks, including the issue of Jerusalem, used to be on the negotiating table," said Quriea, who was the chief Palestinian negotiator with former Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
He went on saying that "if the peace negotiations are resumed, it must be started from the point that has been reached in the last round of talks, and then we continue until we resolve all these issues and sign an agreement with international guarantees."
Following his meeting with both Abbas and Netanyahu, Obama called for resuming the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Obama also announced that his Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell will visit in the region as early as next week to hold talks with both sides' negotiators.
Obama also announced that he had authorized U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to prepare a report over the Middle East peace negotiations in October. However, Quriea said that the whole issue needs an international intervention "in order to succeed the negotiations."
"The only way to bridge the gaps and improve the atmosphere is through the intervention of the international community and the international Quartet in coordination with the UN," said Quriea.
He stressed that the continuation of Israeli settlement "mainly in Jerusalem, would undermine the basis for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The world must not keep silent towards "the Israeli policy of fait accompli."
Earlier on Tuesday, deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon saying that his government backs the efforts to establish a Palestinian state.
In the letter addressed to Ban, Haneya said that his government "encourages and supports every step that leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967."
Haneya's letter, which was also sent to reporters, was sent to Ban shortly before the annual UN General Assembly starts its meetings in New York.
"We won't obstruct any effort to achieve the establishment of a free and independent Palestinian state on 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital," said Haneya.
