The Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, will not restart talks with Israel unless the government halts plans to build hundreds of new homes in occupied East Jerusalem, the Arab League has said.
Abbas's chief negotiator Saeb Erakat confirmed that Abbas had told the Arab League and US Vice-President Joe Biden, who recently visited Israel, of his decision. Israel and the Palestinians had previously agreed to hold indirect "proximity talks", hoping they would lead to face-to-face meetings.
Biden, who yesterday held talks with Abbas in Ramallah, criticised Israel's decision to announce approval for 1,600 new apartments in Ramat Shlomo, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.
"It is incumbent on both parties to build an atmosphere of support for negotiations and not to complicate them," he said.
"The decision by the Israeli government to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem undermines that very trust, the trust that we need right now in order to begin ... profitable negotiations."
Abbas is now hopeful that a visit by the US Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, will persuade Israel to cancel its decision.
