RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov. 8 Palestinian sources say their negotiators will demand a six-month cap on peace talks with Israel.
The Palestinian support team for the negotiations authored a document recommending that the preface to the joint Palestinian-Israeli statement at the upcoming Annapolis, Md., include a six-month deadline for completing a final-status accord, beginning with the signing of agreements at the conference, sources told Haaretz.
The proposal also would require Israel to fulfill its obligations under the first stage of the road map, including dismantling illegal outposts in the West Bank and halting the construction of further settlements in the region. The Palestinian Authority claims it has already fulfilled its responsibilities under the first stage of the peace plan; including creating an independent government, rejecting terror and violence and acting to dismantle terror infrastructures.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has previously told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the United States does not support a timetable for the final-status agreement, the report said.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
