AP Interview: Palestinians working with US envoy toward peace talks but not there yet

Palestinians working with Mitchell toward talks

DAVOS, Switzerland — Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad says conditions aren’t yet right to return to peace talks with Israel but that the Palestinians are working with U.S. envoy George Mitchell on ways to break the deadlock.

Fayyad, in an interview with The Associated Press at the World Economic Forum, said Mitchell and the Palestinians “are working on trying to get talks restarted.”

He says “what we are looking for is to ensure conditions are right for resumption of talks.” The Palestinians have said they want a complete halt to Jewish settlement activity, central to the current stalemate in relations.

Fayyad also said donor nations agreed this week to speed up aid to the Palestinians this year after a slump in funding linked to the economic downturn.