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Arab League Backs Palestinian Plan to Quit Talks

   VOA News 08 October 2010
   Palestinian  President  Mahmoud  Abbas,  center,  listens  to  Qatar's
   Foreign  Minister  Sheik  Hamad  Bin  Jassem,  right  and  Amr Moussa,
   Secretary general of the Arab League

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

   Palestinian  President  Mahmoud  Abbas,  center,  listens  to  Qatar's
   Foreign  Minister  Sheik  Hamad  Bin  Jassem,  right  and  Amr Moussa,
   Secretary  general  of  the  Arab  League,  during  the  Arab  Foreign
   Ministers  Peace  Initiative meeting, in Sirte, Libya, Friday, Oct. 8,
   2010.

   The  Arab  League  says  it  supports the Palestinian decision to stop
   direct  talks  with  Israel  unless  the  Israelis  agree  to halt all
   settlement construction in the West Bank.
   After  meeting  in  Libya, the Arab League foreign ministers said they
   will give U.S. mediators one month to break the impasse. Â
   Palestinians  object  to  Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank
   and East Jerusalem, areas the Palestinians want for a future state and
   capital.
   Israeli  Prime  Minister  Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to extend the
   moratorium on settlement construction that ended on September 26. Â
   On  Thursday,  Palestinian  adviser  Nabil  Shaath  said  his side has
   accepted  a  U.S.  proposal  calling  for Israel to extend a West Bank
   settlement  slowdown  for 60 days, on the condition that the two sides
   spend the time discussing final borders issues.
   Israeli  soldiers  killed  two senior Hamas militants Friday during an
   operation  in  the West Bank city of Hebron.  Israeli and Palestinian
   officials  say  the militants were responsible for the killing of four
   Jewish settlers on the eve of new peace talks five weeks ago.
   Hamas described the raid as an execution.
   Separately,   tensions   were  high  in  a  predominately  Palestinian
   neighborhood  in east Jerusalem Friday after two Palestinian boys were
   hit  by  a car driven by a pro-settlement activist.  The boy had been
   throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles.
   Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AP.

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