Diplomacy

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Palestinians Reject Netanyahu Offer To Restart Peace Negotiations

Palestinian officials have rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s offer to restart peace negotiations, The Times of Israel reported Thursday.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called Netanyahu “king of the settlers” and dismissed his remarks as a PR stunt, Israel Radio reported. Erekat charged that the prime minister actively worked against a sustainable two-state solution.

Another senior PA official, Jamal Mohaisen, said that Netanyahu was unwelcome in Ramallah, and that returning to the negotiating table would be meaningless unless the prime minister were willing to discuss ending Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

Netanyahu, in a meeting Tuesday with peace advocates, said that he was “prepared to go to Ramallah or anywhere else right now to meet and hold direct negotiations without preconditions.”

This May, the Palestinians rejected a compromise plan to restart negotiations that Netanyahu had presented to newly-appointed EU High Representative Frederica Mogherini.

Late last year, former Israeli peace negotiator Tzipi Livni said that it was Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas who had torpedoed American-sponsored peace talks in 2014.

[Photo: Abir Sultan / Flash 90 ]