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Palestinians Hope for Settlement Curb if Peace Talks Resume

by Associated Press

   A senior Palestinian official says he "hopes" Israel will halt
   settlement construction if U.S.-led peace talks resume, but stopped
   short of making it a condition.

   Saeb Erekat spoke Sunday in Jordan after meeting with the foreign
   ministers of Jordan and Egypt, ahead of a Mideast trip next week by
   President Donald Trump.

   Trump says he wants to broker an Israeli-Palestinian deal.

   The Palestinians seek a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east
   Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in 1967. Israel has built settlements
   on war-won lands, now home to 600,000 Israelis.

   In recent years, the Palestinians refused to resume talks without a
   settlement curb.

   Asked about linking negotiations to a settlement freeze, Erekat said
   "no one stands to lose more in the absence of peace and negotiations"
   than Palestinians.