CAIRO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview published on Wednesday that a deal between Israel and the Palestinians could be completed within 6 months if the Jewish state were to permanently end its construction of settlements in the West Bank. His comments come as negotiations between the two sides appears completely stalled.

He said in the interview with Israeli daily newspaper Ha’aretz that he brought up this point to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak that an Israeli freeze in the West Bank and East Jerusalem would go a long way in creating the impetus for negotiations to begin anew.

“During this time, we can return to the negotiating table and perhaps even achieve a final-status agreement. I have yet to receive an answer,” he said.

Although Israeli and Palestinian final peace talks were suspended over a year ago, Abbas is confident that if Israel were to halt all settlement activity, Palestinians would be at the table in order to negotiate on a final settlement. Israel ended talks with Palestinians as the country began an election season, but has not resumed discussions with their Palestinian counterparts.

The United States has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to suspend all settelement activity, but the PM has largely ignored Washington’s demands and this week implemented a new financial deal that will see the continued construction in the West Bank.

The Palestinians have rejected as “insufficient” the 10-month partial construction moratorium Netanyahu announced on November 25.

Abbas insisted his demand that Israel freeze construction before he returned to the negotiating table was not a precondition, and said it was simply a part of the 2003 Road Map peace pan, which he said stipulated that Israel halt settlement activity.

But the sides had agreed to “the presence of a third party” in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. According to Abbas, the sides were supposed to send envoys to Washington on January 3 this year to complete the talks. But Israel launched its Operation Cast Lead offensive against Gaza militants on December 27, and the Palestinians informed the Israelis that the situation did not allow them to send their envoy. “Everything got stuck,” Abbas said.

BM

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