Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority (PA) said Thursday that he received a promise from the United States administration that if he agreed to direct negotiations with Israel, Israel would extend the construction freeze on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, which is currently scheduled to expire in September. Speaking to reporters following meetings of the Fatah Revolutionary Council and the Fatah executive committee in Ramallah, Abu-Mazen said he asked the U.S. about the size and nature of the area the PA would get for a state and was told by President Barack Obama that the direct negotiations would relate to Gaza, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley, in addition to Judea and Samaria.
The Fatah leader said that if there is enough progress by July 28th, he will bring the matter to the Arab League's central committee and if not, the indirect "proximity" talks via American envoy George Mitchell will continue, according to their timetable, although he said he was under pressure from the Obama administration to go to direct talks. The Fatah executive committee's conditions for direct talks were progress on the security and borders question, Israel's acceptance of the two-state principle and continuation of the freeze.