Reacting to a report that  Kadima chairman Haim Ramon advised him not to enter into direct talks with Israel because he was unlikely to achieve any of his goals, PA negotiator Saeb Erekat called the report a lie; any decision by the PA not to engage in direct talks with Israel had nothing to do with Ramon, or any Israeli official. “We don't need Haim, we don't need you or anyone else to make our decisions for us. This has been a decision of the Palestinian Authority for over a year and a half already.

“This is an internal Israeli affair,” Erekat continued. “Don't try to get me involved in your dirty Israeli politics,” he said.