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U.S. Middle East envoy David Welch meeting with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas over the weekend in Ramallah. (AP)
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Last update - 09:45 14/10/2007
PA to pressure U.S. to support freeze on settlement building
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent

Senior Palestinian Authority officials have told Haaretz they will pressure U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to persuade Israel to declare a freeze on construction in the settlements even before the Annapolis peace summit in November.

"This is a stage Israel agreed to at the first stage of the road map," a Palestinian official said. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa told the German news agency over the weekend that the Arab countries would seek a halt to Israeli construction in the settlements in exchange for their participation in the summit. They would also "oppose beginning any final talks without a timetable," Moussa said.

Despite attempts by Israel to avoid discussing final-status issues in the media, senior PA officials also told Haaretz that the idea the Temple Mount would not be in Palestinian hands was "inconceivable."
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"No Palestinian leader would agree to this, certainly not Abu Mazen [PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas]," a PA official said. "No Arab country would agree for a final-status arrangement in which the Temple Mount was not in Muslim hands, particularly not Saudi Arabia."

Another Palestinian official told Haaretz that "the Israeli public still doesn't understand how important the issue of Al-Aqsa is," referring to the mosque on the Temple Mount. He added that the issue was a deal-breaker for the Palestinian public.

The official said the Israeli negotiating team was inexperienced, which was hurting the talks. "They weren't at Camp David or Taba and do not know or want to know what was agreed on there. They want to start from zero, which is unacceptable to the Palestinian side."

Abbas met over the weekend with the U.S. Middle East envoy David Welch to ask that the U.S. put pressure on Israel to freeze its expropriation of land near Jerusalem in the E-1 area. Haaretz has learned that the Palestinian Liberation Organization's chief negotiator Saeb Erekat also sent a letter to the Quartet of Mideast mediators, asking them to stop the expropriation as well as construction in the settlements.

Erekat said in the letter it was unfortunate that while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas were meeting continuously to try to build confidence ahead of the international summit in the U.S., the Israeli government continued to create facts on the ground that would hurt the two-state solution and the summit.

The head of the Palestinian negotiating team, Ahmed Qureia, met Saturday with Welch and told him that the joint document ahead of the summit should clearly refer to the final-status issues of Jerusalem, borders and refugees.

Palestinian sources said another meeting was expected to be held Monday between the Israeli and Palestinian teams.

Amos Harel adds: A Hamas man was killed early Saturday and three others were wounded when the Israel Defense Forces fired a missile at a Hamas cell in Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip, military sources said. They said the men had just fired a rocket into the western Negev. THe rocket caused no damage. Another rocket landed in the same area early Friday with no damage or injuries.

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      1.   TEMPLE MOUNT ARABS`?? WHOSE TEMPLE WAS (AND WILL BE SOON) THERE? 03:27  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 14/10/07
      2.   PA pressure... 03:45  |  Judah N. Wenkel 14/10/07
      3.   Thieves 04:44  |  ron 14/10/07
      4.   WASTE OF TIME 05:05  |  Mark of Lewiston 14/10/07
      5.   Who are these clowns running the goverment 05:49  |  ralphsrant1 14/10/07
      6.   Temple Mt is Judaism`s holiest site, end Arab Occupation 06:18  |  David 14/10/07
      7.   PA must be forced to accept terms 06:23  |  David 14/10/07
      8.   night journey...... 06:49  |  maria 14/10/07
      9.   Mr. Wenkel 06:55  |  Maki 14/10/07
      10.   ISRAEL IS G-DS AND NO ONE ELSES! 06:56  |  THE LIBRARIAN 14/10/07
      11.   Mount Moriah. 07:30  |  sandra chitayat 14/10/07
      12.   Maki #7 07:45  |  jorge 14/10/07
      13.   The Palestinians need to motivate Israel into peace 07:52  |  Natallie Durson 14/10/07
      14.   night journey: no, it`s not true 08:02  |  m 14/10/07
      15.   PARTING GODS LAND LEADS TO ARMAGGEDDON 08:24  |  J 14/10/07
      16.   Mrs Rice,steelements and the Axis of Evil. 08:49  |  Poly Ester 14/10/07
      17.   A Palestinian State, will be a Terrorist State to kill Jews, NO!! 08:51  |  Pavel 14/10/07
      18.   #4, David, who are occupiers, did you say? 09:12  |  Silvienne 14/10/07
      19.   #7, Maki... 09:13  |  Silvienne 14/10/07
      20.   We Will Keep Building In OUR Land 09:25  |  Yishai Kohen 14/10/07
      21.   Summit/Negotiation/"Forced to" 09:37  |  Edward 14/10/07
      22.   Indigenous people here are the Jews 09:38  |  Israeli 14/10/07
      23.   On not playing aces 09:39  |  Clickfool 14/10/07
      24.   Eraseing Jewish History 10:29  |  Nephtaly 14/10/07
      25.   TWO STATES 10:31  |  Rodrigo 14/10/07
      26.   to Maki 10:34  |  Rodrigo 14/10/07
      27.   To #12 Jorge 10:37  |  Levi 14/10/07
      28.   to JORGE, Maki 10:39  |  Rodrigo 14/10/07
      29.   #10 The Librarian - a few pages short of a book! 10:53  |  Maureen Ann 14/10/07
      30.   Silvienne 11:41  |  Jasmine Murphy 14/10/07
      31.   Edward 11:45  |  Jasmine Murphy 14/10/07
      32.   Exchange Mecca for The Dome 12:14  |  Petra 14/10/07
      33.   Indigenous people are Jebusites, Philistines 13:03  |  Amoz 14/10/07
      34.   Facts on the ground 13:06  |  Yoni 14/10/07
      35.   Rodrigo 13:10  |  Jorge 14/10/07
      36.   NO to Pressure and Intrusion 13:24  |  Brod 14/10/07
      37.   PA to pressure U.S? 13:41  |  Cynical 14/10/07
      38.   #16 Pollyanna in paris beats war drums 14:06  |  Labhras 14/10/07
      39.   Israel and Peace 14:15  |  Abe 14/10/07
      40.   "31 Jasmine Murphy stuck for peace offers. 14:26  |  Labhras 14/10/07
      41.   Pals can`t demand anything 15:08  |  Petra 14/10/07
      42.   Night journey Maria Na, it was a wet dream 15:13  |  Petra 14/10/07
      43.   Nuke Mecca let G-d sort them out 15:17  |  Petra 14/10/07
      44.   The original inhabitants of Gondwanaland are the Neanderthals 15:17  |  ugh ugh 14/10/07
      45.   #25 Rodrigo is out of touch 16:21  |  Labhras 14/10/07
      46.   PA is pushing Israel to her limits 16:30  |  Hard Talk 14/10/07
      47.   Permanent freeze on settlement building essential 18:22  |  Ivar 14/10/07
      48.   The Temple Mount NEVER HAD A JEWISH TEMPLE 18:25  |  Ivar 14/10/07
      49.   The WICKED LIE of Occupation 19:01  |  Linda Rivera 14/10/07
      50.   to Jorge 19:15  |  Rodrigo 14/10/07
      51.   #48 IVAR; your "history" starts 2000 years AFTER 19:20  |  Hard Talk 14/10/07
      52.   #49 Linda Rivera confused again 19:49  |  Labhras 14/10/07
      53.   Israel has a choice 19:55  |  Clickfool 14/10/07
      54.   Poor Ivar 20:18  |  millie 14/10/07
      55.   Freeze Arab building 20:28  |  fred 14/10/07
      56.   For Labhras on Linda Rivera # 52 20:48  |  Clickfool 14/10/07
      57.   m.....nyc...you`re telling me that the author 21:05  |  maria 14/10/07
      58.   "Not I", said this American!!! The pressure is on the PA to learn 21:56  |  An American 14/10/07
      59.   Freeze arab building? What a joke! 22:08  |  Palestinian Brit 14/10/07
      60.   joint control 22:29  |  roberta 14/10/07
      61.   HT, Millie, if you reject history and a two-state solution 23:16  |  Ivar 14/10/07
      62.   Jasmine Murphy 01:24  |  Silvienne 15/10/07
      63.   #61, Ivar to Millie 01:26  |  Silvienne 15/10/07
      64.   #43, Petra 01:27  |  Silvienne 15/10/07
      65.   Racism 02:38  |  Stephanie 15/10/07
      66.   58, American hypocrite, read your Bible! 09:56  |  Ivar 15/10/07
      67.   PA to pressure U.S. to support freeze on settlement building 19:40  |  B 15/10/07
      68.   Response to post 67 21:49  |  Stephanie 15/10/07
      69.   #67 B seems to be missing one important fact 03:25  |  Johnboy 16/10/07
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