Erekat: No peace process with Israel mid-June

Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat denied Tuesday claims over prospected restoration of the peace process with Israel in middle of June. Speaking exclusively to KUNA, Erekat denied any initiative made by US Secretary of State John Kerry to restart negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. "This is simply not true," Erekat noted. "Discussions with Kerry focused on finding means and conditions to bring the two sides back to the negotiation table; they did not focus on resuming peace talks." "We need to know what the terms of reference for these negotiations are. What are we negotiating about?" Erekat stressed that his side would only agree to renew peace talks if Israel ceased all settlement activity and openly declared that a future state of Palestine would be created on the 1967 lines with minor land swaps. Erekat sounded exceedingly skeptical about the prospects of a breakthrough in the stalemate since Israel was adamant to resume the peace negotiation without the acceptance of the two states based on '67 borders nor the ending of constructing its settlements in the Palestinian territories. Kerry who held separate talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials acknowledged there was considerable skepticism that the two sides would resume peace negotiations. However, he will work on presenting an initiative that would bring the two sides to the negotiations table mid-June. Erekat also described Kerry's ideas for an economic plan to boost Palestinian growth that he presented at World Economic Forum, held in Jordan, as "irrelevant" to the Palestinians at the moment. "There would not be an economic plan, if there was no political one to begin with." Israeli-Palestinian negotiations broke down in late 2010 in a dispute over Israeli construction of Jewish settlements on occupied West Bank land that the Palestinians want as part of their future state.