An aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday said the Palestinians would not accept a partial Jewish settlement freeze. Nabil Shaath, a senior Palestinian Authority (PA) official, told foreign correspondents in Ramallah that negations would not resume until Israel completely stopped settlement activity, without “loopholes,” and a commitment from Israel to establish an independent Palestinian state.
“If (US President Barack) Obama approves continuing settlement building in Jerusalem, Obama has pulled out of the Middle East peace process,” he said. When asked how he would respond to a US request to resume negations with only a limited settlement freeze, Shaath said: “I would say, Mr. Obama, we love you ... but I am sorry this is not enough to bring us to the peace process.”
