The Saudi government said on Monday that Israel's policy of building settlements in occupied Palestinian territories undermined the US-brokered Middle East peace process. "A freeze in the direct Palestine-Israel peace talks is possible because of Israel's persistent refusal to stop settlement construction in the Palestinian territories," the SPA news agency quoted a cabinet statement as saying.
It said the international community must "oblige" Israel to "end settlements aimed at changing realities on the ground, which undermines the peace process and robs the peace talks of their meaning." The Palestinian leadership has backed president Mahmud Abbas who has repeatedly said he will quit direct peace talks over Israel's refusal to extend a moratorium on new West Bank settler homes which expired on September 26.
The stalled peace negotiations, which began only a month ago, were believed to be the focus of a brief visit to Jeddah on Monday by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit. Cairo said ahead of the minister's trip that he would also discuss Lebanon and Iraq.
Israel has refused to extend the moratorium on settlements in the occupied West Bank, but Abbas has said he will not make a final decision on the talks until after meeting Arab foreign ministers at a summit in Libya on Friday.
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