Abbas to Quartet: Israel must commit for talks to resume

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has made peace talks with Israel's new government conditional on it committing to previous agreements and freezing Jewish settlement growth, aides said on Friday.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Abbas conveyed that message directly to the Quartet of Middle East mediators - the US, the EU, Russia and the UN. "It was conveyed to the Quartet that Israel must accept the two-state solution and agreements signed, including Annapolis, and freeze settlement activities, in order to have political negotiations. You cannot have political negotiations without that," Erekat said. (Reuters)