Itongadol/AJN.- Ahead of Obama-Abbas meeting, Palestinian Authority pressures Abbas not to accept an agreement that would not satisfy majority of Palestinians.
Palestinian officials in Ramallah on Thursday expressed fear that US President Barack Obama would exert heavy pressure on PA President Mahmoud Abbas to accept a US-sponsored framework agreement with Israel.
Abbas is scheduled to meet with Obama in Washington on March 17.
The officials said that it would be a "grave mistake" to force Abbas to accept any agreement that does not satisfy a majority of Palestinians.
The officials also denied that US Secretary of State John Kerry has already presented the Israelis and Palestinians with a draft of the proposed framework agreement.
The Palestinian daily Al-Quds claimed that Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat, who is currently visiting Washington to prepare for Abbas\’s meeting with Obama, received a copy of the agreement . The paper claimed that Obama also handed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu a copy of the agreement during their meeting earlier this week in the White House.
According to the report, the Americans decided to give the Israelis and a Palestinians a copy of the agreement "so that no one would be able to claim that they were caught by surprise."
The report also claimed that Obama promised Netanyahu that he would exert pressure on Abbas to agree to the extension of the peace talks, which are due to be completed at the end of April. Netanyahu demanded during his meeting with Obama that the peace talks be extended at least until the end of the year, the paper said.