Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has confirmed that the PLO Executive Committee will convene on Saturday and say "its final word" on the planned indirect peace talks with Israel.
"After that, we will inform [the U.S. Mideast envoy George] Mitchell whether we are ready to start the negotiations," he said in a statement after a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Wednesday.
Palestinians insist that the main disagreements must be discussed during the so-called proximity talks - control of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, borders and Israel's West Bank settlements.
George Mitchell met for three hours with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to launch the talks and is due to see Abbas on Friday.
Last Saturday, the foreign ministers of Arab countries promoting the Palestinian-Israeli settlement initiative supported the resumption of indirect talks under U.S. mediation.
Israeli-Palestinian direct peace talks came to a halt in December 2008, when Israel launched an attack on the Gaza Strip in a bid to put an end to the firing of homemade rockets at southern Israel by Palestinian militants based in the enclave. The conflict left 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.
Palestinians have so far cited ongoing Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, both occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, as a main obstacle to the peace process.
GAZA, May 6 (RIA Novosti)
