Bethlehem – Ma'an – Israel's Channel 10 reported on Saturday that President Mahmoud Abbas refused a proposal from the United States to resume negotiations with Israel.

According to the report, the US administration suggested, and Israel was preparing to allow, the following in exchange for a guarantee from Abbas that the PLO would re-enter talks.

• Weapons for Palestinian Authority security forces
• Release of 400 Fatah prisoners from Israeli jails before the Muslim holiday of Eid
• Extending the PA's West Bank jurisdiction in Area B to full control and Area C to partial control

Channel 10 reported that Abbas rejected all of these offers, sticking instead to his insistence that there be no negotiations while Israel's borders continue to expand.

The network also reported that the US Consulate in Jerusalem and the PA have established a joint monitoring committee for the construction of settlements inside Jerusalem.