Arab League leaves direct talks decision to Abbas

ARAB LEAGUE foreign ministers yesterday called for the continuation of indirect talks between Palestinians and Israelis until the Palestinian side decides to move to direct talks.

Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who chairs the 10-member committee on the peace process, said timing would be left to the Palestinians, thereby placing the responsibility on the shoulders of President Mahmoud Abbas. The League is expected to convene a gathering of all 22 foreign ministers in September to endorse whatever the Palestinian leader decides.

Mr Abbas has complained of extraordinary pressures being exerted on him by the US, Israel and several European and Arab leaders. But he has, so far, refused to budge from the position he adopted several weeks ago.

“When I receive written assurances [about Israel] accepting the 1967 border and halting settlement [construction], I will go immediately to direct talks.” He said he would accept assurances from Israeli premier Binyamin Netanyahu, the US, or the leaders of Egypt and Jordan.

It is unlikely that Mr Netanyahu will meet these demands. He has repeatedly said that Israel will not continue the partial moratorium on settlement expansion or cede East Jerusalem to the Palestinians as the capital of their state. He has also refused to resume negotiations where they were broken off in December 2008 following Israel’s war on Gaza.

The Arab League said coming negotiations would be “final”. It laid down three conditions for resumption of those negotiations in a letter to the Obama administration which wants direct talks to begin before Israel resumes full-scale settlement construction on September 26th. The League said the talks should have clear terms of reference, a monitoring mechanism, and a firm timeframe.

Discouraged by 18 years of fruitless negotiations, the Palestinians and Arabs are unwilling to enter into endless rounds of talks without firm guarantees that a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital will be the outcome.

“Jerusalem is the key,” a senior Arab political figure told The Irish Times recently.

An internal Palestinian Authority document leaked this past week urged Mr Abbas to reject direct talks until there is progress in indirect negotiations mediated by US envoy George Mitchell, who has warned that the Obama administration cannot intervene until direct talks resume.

Mr Netanyahu reluctantly agreed to Palestinian statehood but has refused to discuss borders and security, the issues Mr Mitchell chose for the proximity phase. Responding to the Arab League statement, Mr Netanyahu’s office said he was “ready to begin direct and honest talks with the Palestinian Authority already in the coming days”.

“The prime minister added that in direct negotiations it is possible to reach a peace agreement soon,” his statement said.