Kerry says Abbas committed to peace talks with Israel

US Secretary of State John Kerry London – Arab Today Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is committed to pursuing peace talks with Israel despite the unresolved issue of Israeli settlement building , US Secretary of State John Kerry said here Tuesday.
\"I\'ll be talking to president Abbas today ... and he is committed to continuing to come to the negotiation because he believes that negotiation is what will resolve this issue,\" Kerry said in Brasilia.
\"Let me make it clear. The policy of the United States with respect to all settlements, is that they are illegitimate,\" he told a press conference after talks with his Brazilian counterpart Antonio Patriota.
\"But, that said, (Israeli) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was completely up front with me and with president Abbas that he would be announcing some additional (settlement) building in places that will not affect the peace map, that will not have any impact on the capacity to have a peace agreement,\" the US chief diplomat said.
Kerry also stressed the \"urgency to get into the discussion of borders and security\".
In Colombia on Monday, the US chief diplomat urged Palestinians \"not to react adversely\" to the Israeli announcement and stressed the need to return to the negotiating table.
With a fresh peace dialogue in its early stages after a three-year hiatus, the approval of almost 1,200 housing units in annexed east Jerusalem and in the West Bank on Sunday infuriated Palestinians.
\"This settlement expansion is unprecedented,\" senior Palestinian official Abed Rabbo said. \"It threatens to make talks fail even before they\'ve started.\"
\"The Jerusalem municipality has approved a construction plan for 942 homes in Gilo,\" an existing settlement in east Jerusalem, deputy mayor Yosef Pepe Alalu said.
\"This is a terrible decision which is a provocation against the Palestinians, the Americans and the whole world who oppose continued settlement building,\" the left-wing municipal councillor said.
The plan was swiftly followed by Israel announcing it would release 26 veteran Palestinian prisoners ahead of a resumption of peace talks Wednesday in Jerusalem.
The 26 prisoners constitute the first batch of a total of 104 long-term Palestinian and Israeli Arab inmates to be freed in four stages, depending on progress in the talks.
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat underlined the importance of the prisoner release for the renewed peace initiative to continue.
\"We hope to put into effect what we\'ve agreed on we hope for the release of 104 prisoners. Each will return to his house. This is what we\'ve agreed on,\" he told Israeli Arabic-language radio.
\"There is a clear understanding between us and the Americans and Israelis. Any change (in that) will mean the agreement is off the table.\"
The decision to free prisoners, however, has angered the families of those killed in assaults.
Most prisoners being freed were arrested for \"murder,\" with five being \"accomplices to murder\" and one being guilty of \"abduction and killing,\" Israel says.
All prisoners had been arrested before 1994 except one who was arrested in 2001.
Housing Minister Uri Ariel of the far-right Jewish Home party also reacted angrily to the impending releases.
\"Terrorists belong in prison,\" Ariel said. \"The terrorists who are being released murdered women and children, and it\'s not clear to me how releasing murderers can help peace.\"
Ariel\'s ministry had on Sunday announced tenders for the construction of 793 settlement housing units in annexed east Jerusalem and 394 elsewhere in the West Bank.
Media reports have implied that the construction announcement was meant to appease Netanyahu\'s far-right coalition partners, who oppose the release of prisoners but fervently promote settlement construction.
\"It is clear that the Israeli government is deliberately attempting to sabotage US and international efforts to resume negotiations by approving more settlement units three days before the Palestinian-Israeli meeting,\" Palestinian negotiator Mohammed Shtayeh said.
Russia described the Israeli move as \"a counterproductive step that complicates the atmosphere of the talks\".
But a spokesman for Netanyahu insisted that the new settlement units were \"in areas that will remain part of Israel in any possible future peace agreement.\"
Source: AFP