Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that he hopes to hear from the US Thursday regarding efforts to re-launch direct peace talks with Israel, dpa reported.
Speaking as he laid the cornerstone for a new presidential palace in a small town north of Ramallah, Abbas said Palestinians have not yet received an answer from Washington regarding their demand that Israel freeze construction at its West Bank settlements and in East Jerusalem before the peace talks may begin.
"Maybe we will hear something official tomorrow (Thursday). If they (Israel) accept (a settlement freeze), we are ready (to restart talks). If not, we will say this option is over and we will search for an alternative," he said.
The direct Israel-Palestinian talks, renewed only in September this year after an hiatus of nearly two years, are currently in limbo after a partial, limited Israel settlement freeze expired on September 26.
Abbas has insisted the talks cannot resume until Israel renews the freeze, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to commit to publicly.
The US has offered Israel incentives to declare a new, three-month, freeze, but the offer has reportedly been held up as the sides try to work out guarantees.
Abbas said that if direct negotiations resume the parties will discuss two issues - borders and security.
"We will define the borders, and then we will continue in the direct talks," he said.
The president added that he will not accept a Palestinian state with provisional borders on 50 or 60 per cent of the area of the West Bank, an idea floated by Israeli officials.
"If we accept that," he said, "then they will become permanent borders and we will never agree to that."
"If efforts to resume negotiations fail, we will look for alternatives, which are all peaceful," he added.
Palestinian officials insist that the new palace being built north of Ramallah is temporary and will be used only until East Jerusalem becomes the capital of their new state and the base of their government.
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