PA refuses to return to bilateral talks with Israel

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh puts on a protective mask after holding a press conference in Ramallah on May 5, 2020 [ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images]

Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said yesterday that the PA leadership refuses to resume bilateral talks with Israel.

Speaking to Palestine TV, he said: “We do not want to go back to the former bilateral negotiations with Israel.” Instead, he explained, the PA is looking for “negotiations based on international law and United Nations resolutions and under the umbrella of the International Quartet.”

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks stalled in 2014 after no progress had been made through the intensive mediation efforts exerted by then US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Shtayyeh said that PA President Mahmoud Abbas is leading political efforts with other Arab countries to push the International Quartet on the Middle East peace process to come up with an initiative for a negotiation track with Israel based on new foundations.

He also said that the PA had asked the US administration to tell Israel to commit to the deals signed with the PA and stop attacking Palestinians.

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