Arab League pessimistic about direct peace talks

08:23, September 01, 2010      
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The Arab League is pessimistic about the outcome of the coming Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, saying that Israel's persistence to go ahead with settlement activities represents a serious and obvious indication about the negotiations ' failure, even before they start.
"It is hard to have real hope to achieve peace under the stances adopted by the Israeli government, especially in the past days," Egypt's official MENA news agency reported on Tuesday quoting Hesham Youssef, head of the AL chief's office.
Youssef criticized the Israeli stances, describing them as "not serious" as Israel approved to enter direct negotiations according to the U.S. statement, not that of the Quartet.
The U.S. statement does not set any preconditions for Israel to enter the talks, such as a freeze on settlement construction, Youssef explained, adding "there is no doubt that Israel has no real desire to make peace."
On the other hand, Israeli President Shimon Peres said Tuesday that he hoped the upcoming direct talks between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington could achieve tangible results.
It is expected that U.S President Barack Obama on Wednesday will sponsor a direct meeting between Netanyahu and Abbas to declare the launch of the direct peace talks between them.
Source :Xinhua
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