Abbas consults Arabs over indirect peace talks

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas was meeting with Arab foreign ministers on Tuesday in Cairo to weigh up holding indirect talks with Israel.

Abbas, who met earlier in the day with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, told reporters discussions would encompass the details of a US proposal for the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The committee is composed of representatives from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the Palestinian Authority.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem was notably absent from Tuesday's meeting, with Damascus represented by its ambassador to the Arab League.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week she hoped talks would start "shortly".

But Mohammed Dahlan, senior official in Abbas's Fatah party, said the U.S. clarifications received so far were not enough.

"I can say that up until now, the American responses to the Palestinian questions have not been enough," he said.

I can say that up until now, the American responses to the Palestinian questions have not been enough

Mohammed Dahlan

Calling for acceptance

Palestinian spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina called on participants to accept indirect talks with Israel.

"Israel does not want to return to the negotiating table. But it wishes to blame the Palestinian side, saying that the Palestinians do not want to enter into negotiations. So we must put a stop to this pretext and reveal Israel's true position before the international community and the American administration," Abu Rudeina said.

He said indirect negotiations would be through U.S. envoy to the region George Mitchell, insisting that direct negotiations were not on the agenda.

"There is currently no idea to hold direct negotiations; the Palestinian and Arab positions on this matter are clear -- there must be a clear reference for negotiations and the complete halt of settlements," Abu Rudeina said.

One Arab diplomat attending the talks told AFP the draft final statement welcomed Mitchell's continued efforts for indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The final draft will also stress that "there will be no direct negotiations until there are clear points of reference for the peace process -- a halt to settlements and the clarification by the American administration of the borders of a Palestinian state."

U.S.-led efforts to restart negotiations between Abbas's Palestinian Authority and Israel, suspended at the start of the Gaza war last year, have failed so far, with Abbas insisting on a complete halt to settlement construction.

On Friday, Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the government had given a green light for 600 new homes in a Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem.

Palestinians want as their state the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which Israeli withdrew from in 2005, with annexed east Jerusalem as its capital.

Israel does not want to return to the negotiating table. But it wishes to blame the Palestinian side, saying that the Palestinians do not want to enter into negotiations. So we must put a stop to this pretext and reveal Israel's true position before the international community and the American administration

Nabil Abu Rudeina