RAMALLAH: The Palestinians said on Dec 16 they would not hold any form of talks with Israel, in any format, without a complete halt to settlement activity.
Their tough stance came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his inner council met to discuss US ideas on the peace process and a top American envoy held talks with Israeli defence officials.
"There will not be any negotiations with Israel, in any form direct, indirect or parallel without an end to settlement," said Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior member of the central committee of Fatah, the secular party of president Mahmoud Abbas.
He spoke to AFP by telephone from Cairo, where Arab League foreign ministers had on Dec 15 ruled out a resumption of negotiations without a "serious offer" that would ensure their success.
Ahmad called on Washington to officially declare its definition of the Palestinian territories to include all the lands occupied by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war, including the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
He urged the Obama administration to state its official position on security and borders.
"We are starting to find that the American position on these issues is confused," he said.
Meanwhile, Dennis Ross, a senior advisor to US President Barack Obama, held talks in Tel Aviv with top defence officials, including Defence Minister Ehud Barak, military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi and the head of military intelligence, Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi.
"During the talks they discussed the security aspects of a possible peace agreement with the Palestinians," Barak's office said.
The peace process was thrown into disarray after Washington acknowledged it had failed in to persuade Israel to renew restrictions on settlement construction.
Following the Arab League meeting, Arab and Palestinian officials were likely to step up their efforts to secure further recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, Ahmad said.
On Dec 15, Abbas held a phone conversation with Bolivian President Evo Morales, who confirmed La Paz would be recognising a Palestinian state "in the coming days," the Fatah official said.
Shortly after the Cairo talks, the US House of Representatives approved a measure condemning any recognition of a Palestinian state.
The European Union also issued a new plea to speed up progress towards a two-state solution encompassing a "viable" Palestine alongside a "secure" Israel.
In Washington, the US House of Representatives on Dec 15 approved a measure condemning unilateral measures to declare or recognize a Palestinian state, and backing a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The resolution, introduced by Democrat Howard Berman, reaffirms the "strong support" in the lower chamber of the US Congress "for a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states, a democratic, Jewish state of Israel and a viable, democratic Palestinian state." The text also "reaffirms its strong opposition to any attempt to establish or seek recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians."
It urges Palestinian leaders to "cease all efforts at circumventing the negotiation process" and calls on foreign governments "not to extend such recognition."
One of the co-sponsors of the House measure was Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the incoming House Foreign Affairs Committee chair, who earlier condemned moves by the South American countries to recognize an independent Palestinian state. - The Nation.
