[La Prensa] Peace talks with Israel to be resumed September 2 cannot begin from scratch, and no Israeli dictate would be accepted, Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saab Erekat said on Monday.
"The previous negotiations followed a long road, and we made it to an advanced point in them; therefore, taking backwards and starting from scratch is not possible," Erekat said.
At a press briefing, Erekat said the Palestinian people would not accept Israel's dictates at next week's meeting, which also involves President Mahmoud Abbas and Israelu Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Bilateral peace talks were held i 1993 and 2000 in Oslo, Finland; Thaba, Egypt (2001); and Annapolis, Maryland, the United States, in 2007 and 2008. Erekat's statements seemed to refute Netanyahu's insistence since assuming office in March 2009 on considering irrelevant the concessions made by his predecessor Ehud Olmert.
The Palestinian official also mentioned a letter addressed today to the Middle East Quartet (Russia, the United States, the European Union and the UN) saying that the future of negotiations with Israel are also liked to Netanyahu ending the construction of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.
September 26th marks the deadline of Israel's ten-month freeze on settlement construction at the colonies.
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