Local Editor

The United States were scrambling to salvage the already dying "Israeli"-Palestinian Authority talks, after "Israel" torpedoed the negotiations over its refusal to deal with a unified Palestinian political entity.
US President Barack Obama, whose administration dragged the two sides back to the negotiating table in July after a three-year hiatus, said Friday the recent Palestinian unity deal between former opponents Fatah and Hamas was "unhelpful" to the talks.

Speaking in Seoul, Obama acknowledged the need for a "pause" in the talks but vowed he would not give up on Secretary of State John Kerry's push despite the latest setbacks.

For his part, "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the BBC that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas could "have peace with "Israel" or a pact with Hamas (but) he can't have both."
"As long as I'm prime minister of "Israel", I will never negotiate with a Palestinian government that is backed by Hamas terrorists that are calling for our liquidation," he added.

The two sides have been on a collision course since March when "Israel" refused to release a batch of Palestinian prisoners in line with the US-brokered agreement on resuming the talks.
The Palestinian Authority retaliated by applying to join 15 international treaties and then Abbas, who heads the Palestinian Authority and Fatah, listed conditions for talks beyond an April 29 deadline.

"Israel" and the United States were hoping to extend the talks beyond the deadline as they have failed to achieve any concrete results so far.
Abbas said he would agree to an extension if "Israel" freezes settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and annexes east al-Quds, frees the prisoners and begins discussions on the future borders of a promised Palestinian state.

"Israel" dismissed these conditions even as US envoy Martin Indyk was holding a new meeting with Palestinian and "Israeli" negotiators in another bid to find common ground.
At the same time, the Palestinian movement Hamas and the Fatah-led Palestine Liberation Organization agreed to establish a "national consensus" government under Abbas within weeks.

The reconciliation deal infuriated "Israel" whose security cabinet said Thursday it would "not negotiate with a Palestinian government backed by Hamas."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team