Abbas agrees to extend talks if Israel freezes settlements

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to extend peace talks with Israel if certain conditions are met, the independent Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported on Monday.

 

Quoting an unnamed Palestinian official, Ma’an said that Abbas had agreed to an extension during his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington last week. The agreement is conditional on an Israeli undertaking to freeze settlement construction and release more prisoners.

 

The release by Israel of the last of four groups of prisoners it agreed to free before talks began in July would be a good test of Israel’s serious about making concessions, the Palestinian official said.

 

So far, 78 of 104 Palestinian veteran prisoners have been freed in three groups, with the final 26 to be released on March 29. However…
 
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