Palestinian chief negotiator says Israel sabotages peace efforts

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Monday that Israel's rejection of a two-state solution and disregard of legal Palestinian rights undermine U.S. peace efforts.

In an interview with Palestine Voice Radio, Erekat said no agreement has been reached, arguing that Israel does not want to negotiate over east Jerusalem, a territory which Palestinians want as their capital.

The Israelis also ignore Palestinian refugees' right to return home and continue to expand their settlement buildings in the West Bank, he added.

"What the Palestinians are demanding is what was given to them by the international community," Erekat said, urging the U.S. administration, which mediate the peace talks, to compel Israel to accept these demands if it really wants to make true peace in the region.

Last July, the United States succeeded in convincing both sides to hold direct peace talks for the first time in three years. The talks are scheduled to last for nine months.

However, last December, Israel asked Washington to extend the peace negotiations by a year, saying if such an extension is not approved, Israel believes the talks will fail.

Erekat stressed that the Palestinians would not accept the time extension proposal, "not even for a single minute."

"Serious peacemakers do not ask for extra time to make peace and stability a reality," he said.

Erekat has also said that he will participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos and will meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is also expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

After six months of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations, the negotiations are still vague as gaps widen between the Israelis and the Palestinians on borders, security, refugees and Jerusalem.

Despite the grave differences between the two sides, Kerry, the mediator between the two sides, is expected to present a framework document at the end of January.

Kerry was expected to return to the region this week to promote a meeting between Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, under Jordanian sponsorship.

But an official Palestinian source told Xinhua that Kerry has postponed his visit because Israel refused his framework plan, adding that Kerry has not yet set a new date for his visit to the West Bank to follow up the peace negotiations.