CAIRO — The Arab League yesterday laid out the three main conditions on which its support for direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks depend, but remained doubtful as to whether a stalemate could be broken.
In a letter addressed to the United States administration, the League said it needed a clear time frame, specific reference terms and a monitoring mechanism in order to support direct talks.
Arab League chief Amr Moussa said at a press conference in Cairo that he was “not of the intention to enter into negotiations” without the implementation of the conditions.
Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdallah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, is representing Oman at the meeting.
Any future round of direct talks, Moussa said, would be the “final phase” of negotiations.
But Qatari Prime Minister Shaikh Hamad bin Jassim, sitting beside him at the press conference, said he was “full of doubts” about Israel’s seriousness regarding final status negotiations.
“Our hope after all these years is for the US to know that we are serious. We do not have guarantees but we have hopes that Obama will take this seriously,” Jassim said.
“There must be a clear Arab position,” Jassim insisted, while outlining the League’s response to the Israeli decision. — dpa