Source: Press TV

Senior Palestinian negotiator Mohammed Shtayyeh (file photo)

“In the absence of political will from the Israeli side to take the negotiations seriously, we believe that it is better not to reach a deal than to reach a bad deal,” Mohammed Shtayyeh said in a statement on Monday.

He further stated that a bad agreement with the Tel Aviv regime will be based on Israel’s “colonial ambitions rather than upon internationally-accepted principles of international law.”

The Palestinian Authority and Israelis resumed their US-backed negotiations in late July, but the talks broke down on November 6, amid a dispute over the Israeli regime’s decision to push ahead with the construction of thousands of new illegal settler units in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The previous round of Palestinian-Israeli talks failed in September 2010, after the Tel Aviv regime refused to freeze its settlement activities in the occupied West Bank.

Shtayyeh added, “Israel is using negotiations only as a tool to avoid international pressure while on the ground it continues its colonization plans,” adding, “What we seek is a comprehensive and final agreement that provides the requirements of justice for Palestine.”

Israel has built more than 120 settlements in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) since its occupation of the lands in 1967. Tel Aviv continues with expanding the settlement activities, which are regarded as illegal by the international community.

On November 7, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Tel Aviv of “a third intifada” if the Palestinian-Israeli talks end in failure. He also said on November 6 that Israel’s settlement expansion is “illegitimate.”