Abbas gets Netanyahu response over peace: Source
Palestine’s Mahmud Abbas received from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a reply on Saturday to his letter about the failed peace process, a source the Palestinian president's office said.
Netanyahu's chief negotiator Yitzhak Molcho delivered the letter to Abbas in Ramallah shortly after 9:00 pm (1800 GMT).
The contents of the letter were not made public.
On April 17, Abbas sent Netanyahu a letter that Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath said was meant to challenge the Israeli leader over the collapse of the peace process and ‘put Mr Netanyahu on the spot’.
Netanyahu was to have responded within two weeks, but has been occupied with domestic political events and the death of his father.
In his letter, Abbas asked Israel to outline ‘as soon as possible’ its positions on four key issues: the principle of a two-state solution based on pre-1967 lines, halting settlement activity, releasing all Palestinian prisoners and revoking all decisions that undermine bilateral agreements since 2000.
"We stand ready to immediately resume negotiations the minute we receive your positive response on these points," he wrote.
Previously, Israel has said it wants negotiations without preconditions.
Netanyahu's office had said that in his response to Abbas he would offer to raise the level of contacts with the Palestinians to that of direct talks between the leaders.
In January, negotiators from both sides held five exploratory meetings in a bid to find a way to resume dialogue, but they ended inconclusively.
Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat has already warned that in the absence of a favourable response from Netanyahu, Abbas will renew his campaign for United Nations membership for a Palestinian state in the General Assembly, in the Security Council and in all other UN bodies.
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