Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Nuclear Energy News .




WAR REPORT
Palestinians weigh new peace talks bid
by Staff Writers
Ramallah, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Dec 10, 2012


The Palestinians are looking to reactivate peace talks with Israel with the aim of resolving all final status issues within six months, a senior official said on Monday.

Speaking to the official Voice of Palestine radio, negotiator Saeb Erakat said "a new stage" had been reached after the Palestinians successfully won non-member status at the United Nations.

"After the UN resolution... a new stage has certainly started," he said, speaking a day after Arab League ministers met in Doha, Qatar.

The historic UN vote on November 29 had convinced the Arab world that "the peace process, and its references and involved parties including the (Middle East) Quartet, should be reconsidered," he said.

By the end of December, a Palestinian committee would work up action plans after which it would travel to the five permanent UN Security Council members -- Britain, France, Russia, China and the US -- to see "whether there is a chance for the peace process and on which principles it should held".

Direct peace talks which began in September 2010 fell apart several weeks later over a dispute over settlements, with the Palestinians calling for a construction freeze and Israel arguing for a return to talks without such preconditions.

Erakat outlined three principles for a return to the negotiating table with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The first principle is that the goal of the peace process -- according to all previously signed agreements and international law -- is the withdrawal of Israel to the June 4, 1967 borderline, including Jerusalem," he said.

"The second principle is related to the necessity of re-launching negotiations from the point they were halted, which means they should not start from scratch like Netanyahu wants them to be.

"The third principle is to set a six-month time-table for the negotiations to reach an agreement over all final status issues," he said.

"Settlement activity should be halted during this period of time and Palestinian prisoners should be released in accordance with previously signed agreements and not as preconditions."

According to a statement on the Doha talks published by the official WAFA news agency, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas proposed "a mechanism setting a six month deadline during which settlements would be halted and Israel would enter into negotiations on what was agreed" -- namely, the 1967 borders as a basis for a peace deal.

Before the start of talks in 2010, Israel observed a 10-month freeze on new West Bank construction, but has refused repeated requests to renew it, dismissing it as an unacceptable "precondition" for talks, although the Palestinians say it is an "obligation" under international law.

.


Related Links






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WAR REPORT
Sham II: New fighting machine of Syria rebels
Bishqatin, Syria (AFP) Dec 9, 2012
From a distance it looks rather like a big rusty metal box but closer inspection reveals the latest achievement of Syrian rebels: a home-made armoured vehicle waiting to be deployed. Sham II, named after ancient Syria, is built from the chassis of a car and touted by rebels as "100 percent made in Syria." It required a "month of work" for the design, assembly and development of the vehic ... read more


WAR REPORT
Plastic packaging industry is moving towards completely bio-based products

Gases from Grasses

Garbage bug may help lower the cost of biofuel

Tiny algae shed light on photosynthesis as a dynamic property

WAR REPORT
Flexible solar cells could be in clothing

German's solar ovens make sunbaked tortillas in Mexico

British firm to build 'Africa's biggest solar plant'

The Future Looks Bright: ONR, Marines Eye Solar Energy

WAR REPORT
Brazil advances wind power development

US Navy, DoD, Developer Announce Wind Farm Agreement

Britain: Higher energy bills 'reasonable'

Areva commits to Scotland turbine plant

WAR REPORT
Chicago skyscrapers go green, slash energy costs

S. America upbeat on energy growth in 2013

Making sustainability policies sustainable

Need for clean energy 'more urgent than ever': IEA

WAR REPORT
Arab states rush to join the shale boom

China's CNOOC say Nexen staff will benefit from takeover

Romania gas, gold referendums scrapped after low turnout

Vietnam breaks up anti-China rally, arrests protesters

WAR REPORT
Astronomers discover and 'weigh' infant solar system

Search for Life Suggests Solar Systems More Habitable than Ours

Do missing Jupiters mean massive comet belts?

Brown Dwarfs May Grow Rocky Planets

WAR REPORT
New ship will make Russia superpower on sea

Northrop Grumman to Supply Navigation Systems for Indian Coast Guard Vessels

China conducts first landing on aircraft carrier

India says to get Soviet-era aircraft carrier in 2013

WAR REPORT
Orbiter Spies Where Rover's Cruise Stage Hit Mars

NASA to send new rover to Mars in 2020

Safe Driving on Mars

Ancient Mars May Have Captured Enormous Floodwaters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement