Interviewed at his Gaza City home, Mahmud Zahar heaped scorn on the peace process and a Wednesday meeting of Arab foreign ministers that discussed the faltering negotiations.

"The Arab League meeting is just a cover for the failure of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah," Zahar told AFP.

"This cover will be used for more expansion of settlements, more intensification of settlers in the West Bank, more demolitions of Palestinian houses in east Jerusalem and more sanctions and even aggression against Gaza."

The Arab League follow-up committee on the peace process met on Wednesday after the United States said it had failed to secure a new Israeli settlement freeze, a Palestinian condition for continuing direct peace talks.

A 10-month moratorium expired shortly after direct talks were relaunched in September, and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said he would not continue negotiations unless it was renewed.

The United States sought a new freeze for months, offering Israel a package of weaponry and diplomatic guarantees in exchange for a three-month ban.

But it acknowledged last week that its efforts had failed, and said US officials would now seek to advance negotiations by facilitating indirect talks.

The Arab League follow-up committee rejected that format, saying it was opposed to any resumption of any talks without "a serious offer that guarantees an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict."

And they said they would also seek a UN Security Council resolution against continued Israeli settlement construction.

Zahar said US failure to secure a new settlement freeze demonstrated that negotiations were useless, and questioned why Abbas and his team would continue talking.

"They spent many, many years; what have they achieved?" he asked.

"Nothing, so they have to tell their own people that after many years of speaking to the Israelis, we reached the conclusion that Israel is not ready to give the Palestinian people their basic demands, which is well-known for everybody."

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