Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday told the U.S. peace envoy to the Middle East, David Hale, that the Palestinians are committed to a serious peace process with Israel, Xinhua reported.
A serious peace process should depend on clear principles and halting settlement in accordance to the international Quartet's statement, the official state-run news agency "Wafa" quoted Abbas as saying.
On Tuesday, the International Quartet Committee for peace in the Middle East which comprises the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union will meet in Amman with Israeli and Palestinian officials to discuss the resumption of peace talks.
Earlier on Monday, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat announced in a news conference held in Ramallah that Tuesday's bilateral meeting can't be considered as a resumption of the stalled peace talks between the two sides.
"The meeting on Tuesday will debate the possibilities of creating a proper atmosphere for the resumption of the peace negotiations, but this doesn't mean that the talks are resumed," said Erekat, who will head the Palestinian delegation.
The Israeli-Palestinian direct peace negotiations stopped in October 2010, four weeks after it was launched in Washington. The talks were suspended after Israel refused to halt settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.