Kerry's visit to produce no progress

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Israel and the West Bank would lead to no progress, a senior Palestinian official said Wednesday.

Mohamed Ishtaya, a member in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah Party's Central Committee, said "the visit of Mr. Kerry to the region and the talks he held can be described as public relations talks."

On Tuesday evening, Kerry met with Abbas in Ramallah for more than two hours and earlier he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Kerry's visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, the first to the region in more than a year, was to defuse a flaring wave of tensions between Israel and the Palestinians that broke out in early October.

The Palestinian health ministry said that 98 Palestinians were killed during clashes with the Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza, while 19 Israelis were killed in a series of shooting and stabbing attacks carried out by Palestinians.

The earlier remarks Kerry made when he met on Tuesday with Netanyahu had outraged the Palestinians, mainly when he said "let's work together to put an end to the Palestinian terrorism and bring about calm in the region."

Kerry also said that Israel has the right to defend itself against the Palestinian terrorist assaults, adding that he came to find a way to bring about calm and get rid of terrorism and violence.

The Palestinian official said his side has clarified to Kerry the Israeli violations on the grounds and its inattention to the signed bilateral agreements as well as it ongoing operations of field execution against Palestinian citizens.

President Abbas explained to Kerry that the Palestinian side "is seeking a political track that ends the Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories in accordance to an agreed upon timetable, but not looking for improving living condition under occupation, he said.

He also said the settlement on all the Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem and the West Bank, is illegal and should stop and be evacuated and removed.

The Palestinian official also warned that if Israel keeps not to abide by the signed bilateral agreements, the Palestinian side would do the same, adding that "the Palestinians will keep their efforts to internationalize the Palestinian cause.

Sources: XINHUA