国际英语新闻：Palestinians receive U.S. approval of proposal of reference for direct talks with Israel

RAMALLAH, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A senior official revealed on Wednesday that the Palestinian leadership received a preliminary approval from the United States over a proposal that the Quartet committee for peace in the Middle East issue a statement defining a reference for direct peace talks with Israel.

Hana Amira, member of Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) executive committee, told Xinhua that U.S. peace envoy George Mitchell informed President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday that the U.S. has accepted in principle the proposal that the Quartet Committee issues the statement.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has been pushing towards the issue that the Quartet committee, which includes the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, is the one which defines a reference for the direct peace talks with Israel.

The PNA wants the Quartet, which will convene in September, to define a reference for the direct peace talks with Israel, which includes setting up a ceiling, an agenda and a time schedule for the talks, in addition to having the role of observing the talks.

"The proposal is still under discussion in order to put a proper vision over the Quartet's statement," said Amira, adding that the Palestinian side has not received any answer from the Israeli side on the issue. "We expect that Israel would rebuff the proposal because it is not serious in the peace talks."