By Xinhua
Ramallah : Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Wednesday denied media reports about an Israeli-Palestinian agreement to postpone talks on the thorny issue about control of Jerusalem until the end of the negotiation process.
“I don’t understand how Jerusalem’s issue can be delayed while the negotiations did not start yet and talks over the final-status issues did not open,” Erekat told Voice of Palestine.
Speaking in the German capital Berlin on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reportedly said there was an agreement to talk on other issues, like the borders, and to delay some final status issues, like Jerusalem, to the end of the talks.
So-called final-status issues are the thorniest disputes between Israel and the Palestinians, which included control of Jerusalem, Palestinian borders, Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, Palestinian refugees, security and water resources.
Control over the holy city of Jerusalem has been seen as the most sensitive and thorniest issue for the decades-long conflict. The city is of special importance to both the Arabs and the Israeli as it comprises major religious sites.
The Palestinians, with support from Arab states, are seeking to set up a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. But the Jewish state says the city is the eternal capital of Israel.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) launched peace talks last December following a U.S.-host peace conference. But the previous three rounds of talks had achieved nothing significant so far.