The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and the United States are holding contacts to resume Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which has been stalled for nearly a year, a Palestinian official said on Sunday.
Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the contacts were still in early phases. "There has been no development or progress yet," he said.
Erekat added that the discussions have not yet led to meetings to bridge the gaps between the PNA and the Israeli government.
"The resumption of the negotiations must be preceded with the suspension of all Israeli settlement activities, including those in
Jerusalem," Erekat told Xinhua.
He stressed that the negotiations must tackle all final-status issues such as the situation of Jerusalem, the refugees and the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The peace talks have stopped since Israel launched a major military operation in Gaza in December 2008.
When hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in early April, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced he will not
resume the negotiations until Netanyahu endorses the two-state solution and freezes the Jewish settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israel's radio has reported that George Mitchell, the U.S. Middle East envoy, will visit the region soon in a renewed effort to restart the peace process.
However, Erekat said the PNA "was not informed about imminent visit by Mitchell."