In the first deadlock with Israeli prime minister-elect Ariel Sharon, the Palestinians insisted Thursday that peace negotiations must resume where they left off under Ehud Barak's outgoing government, a condition the Sharon camp has rejected out of hand, reported AFP.
"We confirm that if the negotiations resume, they must begin from the points where they stopped in Taba," Nabil Abu Rudeina, a top aide to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, told AFP.
"This is the path to peace and security and stability in the region."
Sharon's diplomatic advisor, Zalman Shoval, was quoted by Haaretz newspaper as telling Israel Radio that the Likud leader has ruled out resuming negotiations with the Palestinians from where they stood on January 28 in the Egyptian resort of Taba.
He added that a Sharon government would not even consider itself bound by previous agreements signed with the Palestinians.
On Wednesday, Haaretz said that the Palestinian leadership called on Sharon to renew peace negotiations from the point where they ended in Taba.
The Palestinians' call was included in a statement publicized after a meeting of the Palestinian Authority cabinet and the Fateh leadership in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, said the paper.
The statement also included the demand that the talks would have to be renewed on the basis of United Nations Security Council resolutions and the UN decision recognizing the right of return for Palestinian refugees and on the basis of territory for peace -- Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
