国际英语新闻：Abbas rejects U.S. request to set date for direct talks without reference

GAZA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday rejected a U.S. request to set a date for moving to the direct peace negotiations with Israel without defining an international peace reference for it, a senior Palestinian official said.

Wassel Abu Yousef, a senior Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) official, told Xinhua that David Hale, deputy of U.S. peace envoy George Mitchell, asked President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting earlier on Monday in Ramallah about setting a date for launching the direct talks.

"President Abbas informed Hale that he rejects setting any dates or appointments and reaffirmed the Palestinian position that settlement must be halted and a peace preference has to be defined before moving to direct negotiations," said Abu Yousef.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prays before the start of a meeting with senior Fatah and PLO leaders in the West Bank city of Ramallah May 31, 2010.

He said that the U.S.-Palestinian contacts and consultations " are still going on to find a way to push forward the efforts of Senator George Mitchell to ensure the peace process, adding that Mitchell is scheduled to arrive in the region within the coming few days.

The United States and Israel are pressuring on the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to move from the four-month proximity talks, sponsored by the United States, to the direct peace talks with Israel. The peace talks have been stalled between the two sides since December 2008.