Ahmed Qureia, head of the Palestinian negotiating team with Israel, said Saturday that negotiations will be useless if Israel continues with its settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian areas, according to dpa. He said in a statement that "both the Annapolis and Paris conferences are meaningless and negotiations will be useless if Israel persists with its settlement plans and refuses to stop them." Qureia was referring to the latest international gathering that launched permanent Middle East status talks at Annapolis, Maryland, and the Paris donors' meeting which promised the Palestinians 7.4 billion dollars to help them build a future independent state expected to be concluded by the end of next year. Israel said two weeks ago it would build over 300 new housing units in a controversial Jewish settlement south of Jerusalem, but cancelled plans to build a 10,000-unit settlement north of occupied Jerusalem under international pressure. "These plans that aim to create a Jewish majority and sovereignty over the Holy City do not change the fact that East Jerusalem is the capital of the future Palestinian state," Qureia said in his statement. "Settlement construction in occupied areas is illegal under international law and according to international resolutions," he said. Israel annexed East Jerusalem soon after it occupied the city in the June 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Qureia called on Israel "to immediately stop all settlement activities, including natural growth, in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, before entering into negotiations." He said the Palestinian negotiating team would be waiting for answers from Israel on this matter before a scheduled meeting with their Israeli counterparts on Monday. The Palestinian and Israeli teams have had one negotiating session since last month's Annapolis meeting, which both sides said was very difficult because of differences over the Israeli settlement policy. Qureia said the Palestinian side would raise the issue with US President George W Bush during his scheduled Mideast visit starting January 8.
