Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview published yesterday that a peace deal with Israel could be reached within six months if Israel freezes settlement construction during that time.
Abbas said he proposed the six-month freeze to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in a recent telephone conversation.
“I suggested to him [Barak] three weeks ago that Israel freeze all construction in the settlements for six months, including east Jerusalem,” Abbas told the Israeli daily Haaretz. “During this time we can get back to the table and even complete talks on a final status agreement. I have yet to receive an answer.”
Israel has rejected Palestinian and US demands that it halt settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, war-won lands the Palestinians want for their state. A freeze is mandated by the US-backed “road map” peace plan.
Instead, Israel curtailed construction in some parts of the West Bank, but not in east Jerusalem. Abbas has said he would not resume peace talks without a complete freeze.
Abbas said Israeli officials noted that the Palestinians had not insisted on a settlement freeze in the past.
“True, in 1993 we didn’t say so,” Abbas said of the year negotiations began. “But then there were no agreements about a freeze. Now, there is the road map.”
The impasse over resuming peace talks comes at a time when Abbas’ political standing at home is steadily eroding. His term as president ends next month, five years after he was elected, and the standoff with his Islamic militant Hamas rivals is intensifying.
Hamas wrested the Gaza Strip from Abbas in 2007, leaving him with only the West Bank. Reconciliation talks mediated by Egypt have reached a deadlock, with Hamas rejecting a proposal to hold new elections in June. Hamas has argued that Cairo’s proposal gives Abbas too much control over how the vote is conducted.
Abbas and leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) were to meet later yesterday in Ramallah to approve an extension of his term and that of all Palestinian institutions until new elections are held. This would also include the Hamas-dominated parliament, which has been idle for most of its term since many of its Hamas members are in Israeli prisons.
“Since we cannot conduct elections in Gaza and the West Bank due to Hamas’ refusal, we have no alternative but to extend the terms,” Salah Raafat, a member of the PLO Central Council, told the Voice of Palestine radio.
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