Israeli officials on Monday rejected any "preconditions" ahead of an expected international invitation to direct peace talks with the Palestinians that would call for a complete settlement freeze. Their remarks came as Washington appeared to be closing in on the relaunch of direct negotiations after months of shuttle diplomacy that have thus far failed to convince the Palestinians to enter face-to-face talks.
"Israel is ready to start direct negotiations immediately, but without any preconditions," an Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "The Palestinians, who have lost valuable time by refusing to revive these direct contacts, will present all the topics they want to discuss at the negotiating table," he added. The diplomatic Quartet - comprised of the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia - was expected to issue a statement inviting both sides to relaunch direct talks which were suspended in late 2008.
The Palestinians have said it will be modelled on a Quartet statement issued in Moscow in March that called on Israel to halt settlement construction and for the direct talks to lead to a final peace deal in two years. They have resisted months of US pressure to relaunch the talks, arguing that Israel's rightwing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not serious about withdrawing from lands occupied by Israel in 1967.
Israeli media reported that a forum of seven top cabinet members have decided to reject the Quartet statement, which may call on Israel to extend a limited West Bank settlement freeze, set to expire in September, for another 10 months. "The Quartet declaration should allow the Palestinians to descend the tree they have climbed by refusing negotiations, but it must not be binding on Israel," several Israeli media outlets quoted an unnamed minister as saying.
The minister was quoted as saying that Netanyahu's government would reject the appeal from the Quartet but accept a parallel invitation issued by Washington that would be "more balanced." Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat charged that Netanyahu's government was not serious about peace. "The announcement by the Israeli government rejecting the statement of the international Quartet before it is even issued shows that Israel is persisting in its rejection of a serious peace process," Erakat told AFP.
"(This) clearly proves that this government has other interests besides peace and stability in the region," he added. Erakat also rejected Israel's decision on Sunday to deploy 23 caravans in eight West Bank settlements to serve as classrooms, saying it was "placing additional obstacles" in the way of US efforts to revive the peace process.