Israel's chief negotiator slams Abbas' uncompromising positions

Israel’s chief negotiator, Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni, has slammed the Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas’ uncompromising positions in the negotiations. She said if Abbas insisted on his “unacceptable positions” then the “Palestinians will be the ones to pay the price”. The Palestinian Authority has insisted that it will not sign a peace agreement with Israel which recognizes Israel as a Jewish state and does not guarantee east Jerusalem as capital of the future Palestinian state and the Palestinian refugees’ right to return.

Livni told Israel’s Channel 2 that despite the Israeli public’s low expectations she hopes that Israel and the Palestinians will reach a framework agreement during the remaining three months of the negotiations.

Meanwhile, Israel’s opposition leader, Yitzhak Herzog accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of obstructing the peace negotiations, leading them to a dangerous dead end. Herzog told Radio Israel “the reality now requires us to be decisive and not to postpone the decision to the next generations, as Netanyahu hints”.

Israel’s former Minister of Interior and member of the Knesset Meir Shitrit remarked on Herzog’s statements saying the United States is imposing the solution on Israel and the Palestinians.