PA denies coming under pressure from Jordan to negotiate with Israel

The Palestinian Authority has denied reports which claim that Jordan is putting pressure on President Mahmoud Abbas to resume talks with Israel. Five rounds of talks were held last month in Amman and failed to reach any agreement on the resumption of formal negotiations.

According to Al-Tayeb Abdel Rahim, the Secretary General of the (PA) Presidency, “The allegations made by anonymous Palestinian sources about Jordanian pressure on President Abbas to return to talks are unfounded and lack credibility; they raise questions about the intention behind their publication.”

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In an official statement published by the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, Mr Abdul Rahim said, “The Palestinian leadership has welcomed the initiative of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to conduct a number of exploratory talks with the Israels to ensure their commitment to the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, and its willingness to halt settlement activity.” Those are the preconditions for negotiations, he added.

“Jordan is keen,” continued Abdul Rahim, “like all the Arab countries and lovers of peace in the world, on breaking the stalemate surrounding the peace process and pushing it forward.” The PA, he said, wants to cooperate with Jordan in achieving the goal of “a Palestinian state on the borders of 4th June 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital”. In closing, he said that such an agreement will bring “a just solution to the refugee issue and stability to the region”.