The Arab League will hold an emergency meeting requested by acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the failure of the so-called peace talks with Israel.
According to a report by the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency, Abbas is scheduled to leave for the meeting to be held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Tuesday along with Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki.
The report said that Abbas plans to update the Arab foreign ministers on the latest developments in the U.S.-brokered talks with Tel Aviv.
The Arab League on Monday said the Israeli regime lacks a “real desire” to reach an agreement with the Palestinians.
The 22-member body also dismissed attempts to pressure the Palestinian Authority to refrain from seeking membership of international agencies and treaties, saying the Palestinians have a “genuine right” to do so.
The talks reached a new deadlock when Tel Aviv refused to free the final batch of over 100 Palestinian prisoners in late March as part of a deal for the resumption of the negotiations. The Palestinian Authority, in response, decided to go ahead with its applications to adhere to 15 international treaties and join the agencies on April 1.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 6 threatened to take unilateral measures against the Palestinian Authority unless it abandons plans to join the international agencies and treatises.
Palestinians say if nothing happens before the April 29 deadline for the talks to end, they would seek more UN recognition by working to gain membership of additional international agencies and treaties.
Since the resumption of the direct talks last July, Palestinians have also objected to a number of issues, including the Israeli regime’s illegal settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories.
