International action on peace halted until after US mid-term election

A senior Fatah official has ruled out any effective international or American action on the deadlocked peace negotiations until after the US mid-term election. Nabil Shaath, a member of Fatah’s foreign relations and central committee, said that no efforts will be made before the middle of November at the earliest.

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In a statement to official Palestinian Authority media outlets, Mr. Shaath said, “There will be a waiting period and then international action will restart after the 11th of November.” Up until that time, he added, everyone will be giving the Americans some breathing space.

However, warned Mr. Shaath, “We can’t resume negotiations before a complete halt to settlement building, especially in Jerusalem, and an end to the siege imposed on our people in the Gaza Strip.”

He stressed that without a halt to settlement activity there will be no way to resume negotiations with the Israeli government. “The Israelis, meanwhile, persist in strengthening the occupation of the land even when we talk about an initiative with the essence of ‘land for peace’.”