The Palestinian Authority (PA) is not happy with the verdict that absolved MK Avigdor Lieberman of guilt in the criminal case against him Wednesday morning.
Senior PA official Nabil Shaath told Maariv: "Although the militant line is already leading the government, there is no doubt that Lieberman's return to the position of foreign minister is a clear sign of the future of the talks between the sides, which are already suffering from lack of seriousness on the Israeli side, and from actions meant to cause them to fail."
Shaath said that Israel's declaration regarding continued construction in "the settlements," as some call Jewish communities in areas liberated in 1967, "means a declaration of the failure of the talks by the Israeli side."
Maariv adds that the Israeli and PA delegations to "peace talks" met Tuesday and that the session was an acrimonious one. A senior source in PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's bureau told the newspaper that the reports that the PA agreed to Israeli construction in exchange for the release of terrorist prisoners are "nonsense and lies."