Barghouti says Israel abuses the peace talks as a cover for settlement expansion

The Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative, Mustafa Barghouti, has called for US Secretary of State John Kerry to either place pressure on Israel or finally announce that the Israeli side is the one responsible for the failure of the peace talks with the Palestinians.

Barghouti told Russia Today news channel that: “Israel uses the peace talks as a cover to continue with its settlements expansion, especially considering that Kerry is now proposing to the Arabs to extend the negotiations for another year, even though they do not have a clear reference.”

He also pointed out that every solution proposed by the US Secretary of State has neglected the Palestinians’ right of return and aims at dismissing the Palestinian core issues, including the Palestinians’ right to an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Barghouti added that Kerry has supposedly proposed several different solutions for solving the Palestinian refugee issue within his framework agreement. The first is to ask the refugees to choose between moving to Canada or staying where they are, especially when in Jordan. Another choice is to live in the future Palestinian state, while another is to apply for a residency permit in Israel.

Source: Al-Sharq

Note: This item was updated at 16.27 GMT on Jan 17, 2014.