Palestinians Ready to Renew Direct Negotiations With Israel, Foreign Minister Says
Palestinians are ready to renew direct negotiations with Israel if they are based on the respect to the UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Palestinian National Authority (PA) Riad Malki said during the MED 2020 virtual conference.
Malki recalled that Palestine had recently renewed financial and security coordination with Israel.
"We consider that as an encouragement reason for the new [US] administration to move forward in that direction. We are sending clear messages not only to [Joe] Biden administration, not only to Israel, but also to the European and many others that Palestinians are ready to re-engage completely with Israel in renewing direct negotiations without any preconditions as long as such renewal is based on already recognized terms of reference, meaning the UN resolutions and Arab Peace Initiative, international law etc. These are the most important elements for us, on which any kind of future negotiations with them should be based," Malki said.
Earlier in November, the Palestinian authorities announced the restoration of cooperation with Israel, including coordination in the security field, after it was suspended in May over Israel's plans to annex territories in the West Bank.
The Israel-Palestine peace process has long been stalled due to both sides refusing to compromise on issues important to them. One of the main goals of the Palestinian side is to restore the border between Israel and Palestine to where it was before the 1967 Six-Day War, with a possible territorial exchange.
Palestinians hope to create their state on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel, on its part, is hostile to the idea of restoring previous borders and is even more hostile to the idea of sharing Jerusalem, which they consider their eternal and undivided capital.
- Source : Sputniknews.com