Bethlehem – Ma'an – Israel must halt construction of illegal West Bank settlements if it wants renewed peace negotiations, Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said late on Thursday.

In a statement carried on the official news agency WAFA, Rudeineh said, “We need words to be translated into action on the ground, in particular a halt to settlements in East Jerusalem and [Israeli] recognition of the two state solution.”

“Peace on all tracks will lead to a permanent and just peace in the Middle East,” he also said.

Rudeineh was responding to remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who voiced tentative support for the 2002 Saudi-backed Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for an Israeli withdrawal from the territories it occupied in 1967.

“We appreciate the efforts by Arab states to advance the peace initiative. If these proposals are not final, they can create an atmosphere in which a comprehensive peace can be reached,” Netanyahu said, speaking at an event organized by the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv.

"We hope in the months ahead to forge peace with the Palestinians and to expand that into a vision of a broader regional peace," he added.

Netanyahu has rejected calls to stop construction of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land. He claims to want negotiations, but refuses to negotiate with the goal of a full-fledged peace agreement in mind.