By Xinhua
Ramallah : Palestinian negotiation team is fully authorized by President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to reach a framework deal with Israel, a Palestinian official said on Thursday.
“The authorization enables the team to reach a document dealing with the final-status issues and a timetable for negotiations with Israel,” Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for Abbas, told reporters.
Abu Rudeina made the remarks following Israeli accusations, which blamed the Palestinian negotiation team on blocking efforts to agree on the document because of the crew’s inflexibility.
“The obstacles that prevent the negotiations’ progress are made by the Israeli side which refuses the idea of the document,” Abu Rudeina said.
The document would be presented to a U.S.-hosted peace conference slated for November or December to revive stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
“The Israeli stance doesn’t contribute in making the upcoming conference successful,” he added.
Israel and the Palestinians now still differ with each other as to what they should agree on before the conference.
The Palestinians expect a detailed framework agreement that would address core issues including borders, Jerusalem and refugees. But Israel wants only a broad-brush principle for peace talks.