US envoy: Palestinians want talks to continue

THE Palestinians want peace talks with Israel to continue, US envoy George Mitchell said in Cairo yesterday, a day after the Palestine Liberation Organisation urged president Mahmoud Abbas to quit the negotiations.

“Despite their differences, both the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority have asked us to continue these discussions in an effort to establish the conditions under which they can continue direct negotiations,” George Mitchell told reporters after meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

“They both want to continue these negotiations, they do not want to stop the talks,” he said.