Palestinians put off decision to resume peace talks with Israel

PanARMENIAN.Net - Palestinians put off a decision on Thursday, July 18 on whether to resume peace talks, with a senior official saying Israel needed to meet their terms before negotiations could resume, Reuters said.

The Palestinian stance suggested that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's sixth peacemaking visit to the region since March was likely to end inconclusively on Friday, when an aide said he would fly home after talking to both sides once more.

In Washington, President Barack Obama telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him to keep working with Kerry "to resume negotiations with the Palestinians as soon as possible," the White House said.

Obama's phone call to Netanyahu, during which they also discussed security issues in Egypt, Syria and Iran, appeared to signal the White House was putting some of its muscle behind Kerry's push to resume peace talks that broke down in 2010.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and fellow Palestine Liberation Organisation leaders discussed the issues in Ramallah and it became clear after two lengthy meetings that the Palestinians did not feel able to resume talks for now but were open to further discussions with Kerry.