According to PA sources, speaking off the record in advance of Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, the PA has consented to direct negotiations with Israel – on four preconditions. Said preconditions were apparently presented to the president’s envoy Jason Greenblatt, and they are:
1. Construction freeze in Judea and Samaria Israeli settlements.
2. The talks must start with a discussion of the borders of the future Palestinian State, with a guarantee that the new state be established on the basis of the 1967 border.
3. Israel must release “veteran” terrorists from its prisons.
4. The talks must begin with a statement as to the time of their conclusion.
Otherwise, everything is open, and the PA would be happy to accept the US as the peace broker, as opposed to their former demand that the talks be chaperoned by an international forum.
It should be noted that by calling to start the talks with acceptance of the 1967 border, the PA has also done away with Israel’s annexation of eastern Jerusalem and with the settlements.
