Tel Aviv (dpa) – No breakthrough was reached at the final round of Israeli-Palestinian “exploratory” talks in Jordan overnight, a Palestinian official said Thursday, as a three-month deadline expired. The talks about resuming full negotiations had been set a Thursday deadline by the Middle East Quartet – comprising the US, European Union, Russia and the United Nations. Unless conditions change, the talks are “over,” the official told dpa on condition of anonymity. The Israelis still did not submit their long-awaited proposals on security and borders in the late Wednesday session, the official said. “From now there will be no exploratory talks,” he said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas however would consult with the Arab League on February 4, before making a final decision on how to proceed. He also planned to convene the Palestinian leadership the same week. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had sounded less clear-cut in Amman Wednesday. The Quartet's deadline was supposed to concentrate the two sides' approach to the 2003 “road map” plan, and to submit proposals on borders and security by January 26. The road map obligations included a freeze of Israeli settlement activity, the Palestinian official reiterated. He said the Palestinians had submitted their proposals, but “from the other side we did not get anything.” “So why should we continue this process?” he asked. An Israeli government official, also speaking on condition of anonymity to dpa, would not clearly answer whether Israel had submitted proposals on borders and security, but said: “In the talks, Israel raised substantial issues and we want a continuation of the discussions.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/b71e0 Tags: Israel, Peace Talks, Stalled Section: Latest News, Palestine
