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Palestinians dismiss interim steps

[ssba]

A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday dismissed the possibility of interim steps toward peace between Israelis and Palestinians, in the event that direct talks between the sides remained frozen. Nabil Abu Rudeineh reiterated the PA’s call for a renewed moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements as a condition for the renewal of talks. He said that any talks must focus on the establishment of a Palestinian state ‘on the 1967 border.’ Abu Rudeineh was responding to continuing media speculation regarding the possible formulation by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a new ‘phased approach’ intended to allow for progress in the diplomatic process between Israelis and Palestinians despite the absence of talks on a permanent status agreement. Netanyahu has yet to comment publicly on this issue, though Defence Minister Ehud Barak, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal earlier this week suggested that the government of Israel might propose a Palestinian state with ‘temporary borders.’ This idea, which formed part of the Road Map, has long been rejected by Palestinian leaders.