The Palestinian Authority has set new conditions for agreeing to extend the peace talks with Israel after April, PA officials in Ramallah said Thursday.
The new Palestinian conditions include Israeli recognition of the pre-1967 lines as the future borders of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital and the release of 1,200 Palestinian prisoners, the officials said.
The Palestinians are now demanding that Israel release three senior prisoners: Marwan Barghouti, Ahmed Sa’adat and Fuad Shobaki.
The new conditions also include a complete cessation of settlement construction, PA sovereignty over Area C in the West Bank, a halt of Israeli military operations in PA-controlled territories and “reunion” permits for 15,000 Palestinians.
Other conditions include reopening the border crossings and lifting the blockade on the Gaza Strip, as well as the return of Palestinian gunmen who were deported to the Gaza Strip and Europe after they seeking shelter in the Nativity Church in Bethlehem.
The new conditions were announced during a meeting of Fatah leaders with Chief PLO Negotiator Saeb Erekat in Ramallah.
A Fatah leader quoted Erekat as saying that he relayed the new conditions to the Israeli side during a meeting in Jerusalem late Wednesday. Erekat and Majed Faraj, commander of the PA’s General Intelligence Service, held a nine-hour meeting with Justice Minister Tsipi Livni and US envoy Martin Indyk.
Ziad Abu Ein, a Fatah official who attended the meeting in Ramallah with Erekat, said that if Israel accepts these conditions and releases the fourth batch of prisoners then the PA would agree to pursue the negotiations until the end of the year.
Abu Ein said that the PA was determined to pursue its bid to join international institutions and treaties despite a request from Israel to delay the move so as to give the Americans a chance to continue their efforts to achieve an agreement between the two parties.
Abu Ein and other Palestinian officials said that the PA leadership’s goal now is to seek membership in the International Criminal Court as a first step toward prosecuting Israelis for “war crimes” against Palestinians.
Erekat was also quoted as telling the Fatah leaders that Israel was seeking to turn the PA into a powerless authority. “[Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu wants an occupation that does not cost anything,” Erekat said. “He’s also trying to exclude the Gaza Strip from any deal.”