World will pay if PA-Israel talks fail

The international community will pay the price, should the new round of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority fail, Jordan’s King Abdullah II says.

The monarch said in a statement on Sunday that the failure of the negotiations would reflect negatively on all parties.

King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were invited by US President Barack Obama to attend talks between Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas in Washington.

No role or input was reported for the Jordanian and Egyptain rulers during the US-staged talks, although many photos have been widely published showing their presence for the well-publicized event.

The latest discussions started on September 2, nearly 20 months after the talks broke off in the wake of Israel’s December 2008-January 2009 offensive against the Gaza Strip.

The outcome of the talks is still unclear as Israeli authorities insist on continuing settlement activities in the occupied territories.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday his party would block any attempt to extend Tel Aviv’s 10-month settlement freeze.

In November, Netanyahu announced a 10-month freeze on illegal settlement expansion projects in the occupied West Bank.

Aside from the settlement, the final status of the Israeli occupied East al-Quds (Jerusalem) — which Palestinians demand as the capital of their future state — were among other key issues for the negotiations.