Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement said Tuesday that it does not support beginning direct peace negotiations with Israel before a total halt to all Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, dpa reported.
The movement's Central Committee said in a statement that it wants to see "real progress in the borders and security issues, a total and comprehensive settlement freeze, including natural growth and in East Jerusalem, and for negotiations to start from the point they ended" in late 2008, before it can accept going to direct negotiations.
The Palestinians have been under pressure from the US and Europe to move from the current indirect or proximity talks with Israel to direct negotiations.
"Fatah's position regarding these matters is very clear and these are requirements that should be met to go to direct negotiations," the group's spokesman Muhammad Dahlan said.
"Without meeting these requirements, Fatah cannot accept the US demand to immediately and automatically go to direct negotiations with Israel," he added.
The last round of direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were suspended in late 2008, as Israel entered an election period.
Abbas has made a the resumption of talks with the new Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu conditional on a total Israeli halt to all construction in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In November last year Netanyahu declared a partial and limited 10- month construction freeze, which did not include East Jerusalem. Palestinians said this was insufficient, but mediation by US envoy George Mitchell resulted in indirect talks getting underway in this past spring.
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