Abbas to Biden: Settlements could derail peace ( Ma'an )

President Mahmoud Abbas called Israel's expansion of West Bank settlements a "blast to confidence" and a move that "threatens efforts to resume peace talks," during a news conference alongside US Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

Following a meeting with the American official, who on Tuesday told reporters that "Israel captured his heart," Biden spoke out against the Israeli announcement of further settlement expansion publicly for the second time.

"The Israeli government's decision undermines the trust that is needed in the negotiations, the United States will not be subjected to any statements or resolutions that fuel tension," Biden told reporters at the presidential compound in Ramallah.

Israel's Interior Ministry announced ambitious new plans on Tuesday to expand Israeli settlements built on land taken from Palestinians in East Jerusalem. The pronouncement coincided with Biden's visit and followed a US announcement that Israel and Abbas are to resume indirect peace negotiations.

In his remarks on Wednesday, Biden reiterated the committment of the US to the Palestinian people and a Palestinian state, adding that he saw a two-state solution as an integral part of the peace plan. "The United States will play an active and sustained role in indirect negotiations," which Biden said he considered necessary as a prelude to direct talks.

In order for talks to go forward, he said, an "appropriate atmosphere" would be essential.

Abbas expressed serious concern over the issue, saying the Israeli move threatened to cancel the decision of Palestinian leaders to go forward with proximity talks.

Peace is a strategic choice, Abbas told Biden, and stressed the committment of the Palestinian leadership to the process. What we need is a "lasting, comprehensive and just peace on all tracks including the Syrian and Lebanese tracks, which will lead to ending the Israeli occupation which started on 1967," Abbas explained.

In Washington, State Department spokesman JP Crowley told reporters on Tuesday that "[p]roximity talks have begun. We think this is a positive step."

He said US envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell would return to the region in a week, at which point "he’ll continue the discussion that he had with the leaders over the past couple of days." While in DC, Mitchell briefed the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Crowley said.

Ramallah – Ma'an