Abbas: Palestinians will resume Mideast peace talks if Israel accepts Quartet statement

[Jefferson23]

Speaking with TIME magazine, PA President says Israel's acceptance of negotiations blueprint 'with reservations' was an attempt to end a Palestinian statehood bid at the UN.

By Haaretz and Jack Khoury

The Palestinian Authority will resume direct Mideast peace talks if Israel fully accepts the Quartet's recently released negotiations blueprint, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview on Tuesday.

Abbas' remarks to TIME magazine came after, earlier this month, a top Israeli official said that Israel's answer to newly offered roadmap for peace amounted to a "yes, but" and that Israeli officials would present several qualifications concerning points included in the plan.

Those qualifications, the official said, revolved, among others, around the Palestinian demand for a West Bank settlement freeze, the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, and the suggested timetable for direct talks.

Speaking with TIME magazine on Tuesday during his official visit to Colombia, Abbas claimed Israel's acceptance of the Quartet document was a ploy meant to end the Palestinian bid at the UN, saying that if "If the Israelis accept the statement of The Quartet, I will accept," adding that he would "return back to the negotiating table."

in full: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-palestinians-will-resume-mideast-peace-talks-if-israel-accepts-quartet-statement-1.389402