ARAB countries back indirect talks between Palestinians and Israelis in a four-month window, a senior Palestinian official said on Wednesday, after the United States proposed such talks in a bid to revive the peace process. "Arab foreign ministers decided to give an opportunity to the suggestion of proximity talks for four months," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told reporters at the Arab League in Cairo. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is attending the meeting, said he would adhere to any decision made by the Arab League ministerial committee that convened this week in the Egyptian capital. The United States has been trying for a year to get the Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiating table. Abbas had resisted US and Israeli calls for a resumption of direct negotiations, saying Israel must first halt all Jewish settlement building on lands, where the Palestinians aim to establish a state. Palestinian officials have downplayed the significance of the idea of indirect talks tabled by Washington, arguing that US Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell's shuttle diplomacy over the past year has amounted to just that. Abbas broke off negotiations with Israel in protest at its offensive in the Gaza Strip launched in December 2008. Syrian ambassador at the Arab League Yusef Ahmed said: "The committee does not object to indirect negotiations and, if nothing is achieved four months from now, the issue will be taken to the UN Security Council." Arab delegates said talks should be based on the principles of a 2002 Arab peace initiative, which calls for full normalisation with Israel in exchange for a complete withdrawal by Israel from Arab land, the creation of a Palestinian state and an "equitable" solution for Palestinian refugees. Negotiations must "adhere to Arab principles defined by the Arab peace initiative," Oman's top diplomat Yusef bin Alawi bin Abdullah told reporters on Tuesday. "What has prevented Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from pursuing negotiations is the continued policy of settlements," Abdullah said, adding that any negotiations must be during hardline Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's term of office. In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Hosni Mubarak warned that the 'invasion of Temple Mount' hurts Arabs' sentiments and damages peace efforts. Mubarak also urged Israel to lift blockade imposed on Gaza Strip. "The invasion of the Temple Mount and of including the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb in the list of Jewish heritage sites may have dangerous implications," Mubarak was quoted by the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) as telling Netanyahu. Going into Tuesday's consultations with the Arab ministers, Abbas said he would base his decision on whether to join indirect talks with Israel on the outcome of the meeting. "We, the Palestinian side, will abide by what is decided at this meeting," he said. Palestinian spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina had called on delegates to accept the principle of indirect talks.
