Cairo: Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas
said on Saturday that the failure by US envoy George Mitchell to a
secure a deal on Jewish settlements means the resumption of
peace talks with Israel is on hold.
"The road is now blocked," Abbas told reporters after
talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo.
Mitchell left Israel on Friday after failing to secure a
key deal on Jewish settlements. He had spent the day shuttling
between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abbas,
after meeting both leaders earlier this week.
Abbas said that the onus was now on Israel to clear the
way for peace negotiations, adding that Mitchell will resume
talks with the Middle East players after the UN General
Assembly next week.
"There is no more work (for Mitchell) with the Western or
Palestinian sides because we are complying with all our
duties. The focus has to be on the Israeli side," he said.
Mitchell had been trying to broker a compromise on the
thorny issue that would have led to a three-way meeting
between Netanyahu, Abbas and US President Barack Obama on the
sidelines of the General Assembly.
He had been aiming to secure some kind of Israeli
moratorium that would be acceptable to the Palestinians and
enable the resumption of peace talks that were suspended in
late December
Bureau Report
