Palestinian leader Abbas says peace deal possible in 6 months
14:27 16/12/2009 GAZA STRIP, December 16 (RIA Novosti) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians could be reached within six months, if Israel completely halted the construction of settlements.
The Palestinian National Authority has refused to return to the negotiating table until Israel halts all its construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, saying a partial, 10-month freeze announced by Israel was not enough to resume peace talks.
"I spoke with Defense Minister Ehud Barak twice over recent weeks... I suggested to him three weeks ago that Israel freeze all settlement construction for six months, including in East Jerusalem. 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 told the Israeli daily Haaretz.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in late November that construction would be limited in the occupied West Bank, but not in East Jerusalem. He also said construction would resume in the future.
The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Some half a million Jewish settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, both of which have been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
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