Quartet invitation must include halt to colony work

Ramallah: The Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) will approve resumption of the stalled peace negotiations with the Israelis if the Mideast Quartet's invitation to Palestinians includes a halt to Israeli colonial activities and mention of the terms of reference, said a top official.

"Freezing construction in Israeli colonies and mentioning the international references should be highlighted in the Mideast Quartet's invitation to the Palestinians to bring peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis back on track," Wasel Abu Yousuf, a member of the PLO Executive Committee and Coordinator of the Palestinian Factions in the West Bank, told Gulf News.

"We are waiting for the Quartet's invitation which calls on the Palestinians to attend the meeting for the resumption of the peace negotiations with the Israelis," he said. "We expect the invitation to mention the Israeli colonial activities and the terms of references for the peace negotiations; otherwise the Palestinians will not attend the preparatory meeting for the resumption of the peace negotiations," he stressed.

Abu Yousuf said the Palestinians want to see real commitment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the peace process and the negotiations. "We are ready to resume the negotiations instantly and with no delay."

Olive trees targeted

Israeli colonists have uprooted and burnt 9,131 olive trees in the West Bank since the beginning of this year, said a top Palestinian official.

Maher Ganem, Palestinian State Minister for the Wall and Settlement [colony] Affairs, said that most recently, as the Palestinians were preparing for the olive harvest season, which coincided this time with President Mahmoud Abbas' submission of the application seeking full membership of the UN, the colonists uprooted 1,307 olive trees in the West Bank.

Ganem said the colonists could carry out the uprooting only with the support of the Israeli Army, which provided them with the necessary protection. He urged all Palestinians to lend a hand to olive planters to minimise the time needed for the harvest, thereby reducing the threat of colonists destroying the trees. The Palestinian government has instructed its security apparatus to protect the olive farms.