RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- "Settlements deepen the occupation, they steal Palestinian lands and water; with settlements there is no peace," a statement from the Fatah Central Committee said Thursday.
In an effort to clarify the staunch stance of Palestinain negotiators around the settlement issue, a document was released by the committee following a Ramallah meeting ahead of Eid Al-Fitr, as negotiations will resume on 14 September, a day after the Eid holiday closes.
Beginning with praise for the Palestinain role in talks, the statement from the committee said negotiators were firm in their adherence to national principles, despite criticism to the contrary.
Opposition parties within the PLO have called the decision to return to talks without guarantees of a settlement construction halt that includes East Jerusalem a violation of the wishes of Palestinians
The committee's statement stressed the centrality of Jerusalem in the settlement construction issue facing negotiators, explaining that while negotiations on the final status of the city continue, Israel must not continue settlement construction on internationally recognized areas that are either disputed, or clearly Palestinain.
Fatah officials praised the support of Jordanian King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, as well as the position of the Arab Peace Initiative follow-up committee as talks progress.
On 14 September US mediators will meet Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm Ash-Sheikh for a first round of talks, following which negotiators will move with the US officials to Jerusalem to continue the discussions.
A following meeting may be held in Jericho, according to reports, with Israeli and Palestinian officials sitting for a final discussion ahead of the end of the settlement construction freeze on 26 September.
While Palestinians say negotiations could not continue of settlement construction persists, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his constituents would not stand for a continued freeze.
Reports in the Israeli press said Friday that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who had come out against the peace talks and vociferously condemned the idea of a continued settlement freeze, may meet with US President Barack Obama in Washington DC later in the month. The meeting would be an attempt to bring Lieberman on side with the progress of talks, and possibly in line with a settlement construction freeze.
The foreign minister is a resident of the illegal West Bank settlement of Tuqu, south of Bethlehem.
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