By Nasser Abu Bakr (AFP) – Jul 17, 2010

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — The Palestinian leadership said Saturday it wants "clarity" regarding the US position on Israeli settlements and Jerusalem before moving to direct peace talks.

"Until now there is no clarity in the (US) position on a number of issues, especially those related to moving into final status talks," senior Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo told reporters in the West Bank.

He spoke after a three-hour meeting between visiting US Middle East envoy George Mitchell and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, part of a sixth round of indirect peace talks with Israel launched in May.

"The three-hour meeting between Abbas and Mitchell was important but there are several issues, most important among them the settlements and the situation in Jerusalem, that need more clarity," Abed Rabbo said.

The Palestinians have long demanded a complete freeze of Israeli settlements ahead of face-to-face peace talks and accused Israel of undermining the process by approving new settler homes in mostly Arab east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians view as their capital.

Israel occupied the eastern half of the city in the 1967 Six Day War along with the West Bank and annexed it in a move not recognised by the international community, declaring the entire city its "eternal, undivided capital."

As with previous visits, Mitchell declined to discuss the details of the talks, saying only that it was a "very productive" meeting and that US President Barack Obama remained committed to a two-state peace deal.

Earlier this month, during a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Obama said he hoped to see direct talks begin before a partial moratorium on West Bank settlements ends in September.

The Palestinians reluctantly agreed to launch indirect peace talks in May after suspending the last round of direct negotiations during the 2008-2009 Gaza war.

In recent weeks Abbas had largely backed away from conditioning direct talks on a full settlement freeze, instead insisting on "progress" on the issue of borders and security.

In an interview published Saturday, he said he would meet Netanyahu if Israel agreed in principle to a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with equal land swaps and the presence of an international security force.

"Israel must accept that the Palestinian territory in question be that of the 1967 borders and with the presence of a third party," he told Jordan's Al-Ghad newspaper, referring to the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza.

"This will push us to embark on direct negotiations," Abbas said.

The Palestinians say Netanyahu has yet to respond to the proposal, and the prime minister has previously said Israeli forces would remain stationed in the strategic Jordan Valley after a peace deal to prevent weapons smuggling.

In an indication of the domestic pressure Abbas faces, his own party on Thursday told him not enter into direct talks with Netanyahu's right-wing government without showing progress in the proximity negotiations.

A decision this week to approve the construction of more than 30 new homes in a major east Jerusalem settlement, as well as the demolition of six Palestinian homes built without city permits, could further constrain Abbas.

Netanyahu has repeatedly called for direct talks, but few Palestinians believe his right-wing government is willing to withdraw from the occupied territories.

They point out that in nearly 17 years of on-again off-again peace talks the number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank has nearly tripled to 300,000, with another 200,000 now living in occupied and annexed east Jerusalem.

Mitchell was to meet with Netanyahu for a second time on Sunday. The two met on Friday with neither side discussing the details of the talks.

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