Israel opposes Palestinian conditions for resumption of talks

The Israeli Science Minister Daniel Hershkowitz has said he opposed Palestinian conditions for the resumption of peace talks, foremost freezing the construction of new jewish settlements. He told Israel radio there was no room for any suspension of the construction , claiming Israel froze settlement building for 10 months but the Palestinians refused to go back to the negotiating table. Hershkowitz said also Israel would refuse to return to pre-1967 War borders. The Israeli environment minister Gilad Ardan, meanwhile, in an interview with the radio, called for pressuring the Palestinians to resume negotiations , expressing his support for a US-sponsored international conference on the Middle East.