Palestinian Authority conditions talks timeframe extension

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Palestinian Authority says extending talks with Israel beyond the April deadline, is conditioned on a moratorium on Israel’s settlement constructions in the occupied territories. On Monday, acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas said: “The only way we will agree to extend talks is if [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu declares a freeze in settlement construction....”.The Palestinian official further said the Israeli premier had to release “additional prisoners beyond the next installment [of Palestinian prisoners sentenced before the Oslo Accords in 1993].”US Secretary of State John Kerry has called on the Palestinian authority to extend talks with Israel beyond April.Palestinian and Israeli negotiators began a fresh round of talks in July 2013. Since the resumption of the direct talks, Palestinians have objected to a number of issues, including the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank including East al-Quds (Jerusalem).The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks broke down in 2010 after the Tel Aviv regime refused to halt its settlement construction.Also on Monday, Israel’s central bureau of statistics released data showing that Tel Aviv began to work on 2,534 settlement units in the year 2013, compared to 1,133 in 2012.Israel’s settlement construction remains one of the main obstacles to the regional peace. ./129