Peace talks meeting canceled due to killing of 3 Palestinians in W. Bank

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-8-26 19:57:38

A meeting set to take place Monday noon in Jericho between the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators has been canceled after the Israeli security forces killed three Palestinians on Monday morning in the West Bank, the Ynet news website reported.

Israeli officials would not comment to Xinhua about the report, as the talks are being held under secrecy without press statements or releases.

According to the report, the talks were supposed to take place in Jericho, at the house of Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, after two rounds of talks were held recently in Jerusalem.

On Monday morning, three Palestinians were killed and more than 15 were injured, six of them critically, during clashes between the Israeli Border Police, military and Palestinians in Kalandia, a Palestinian village located in the West Bank, between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

The Palestinians reported a large force of the border police entered the village to arrest a suspected militant and said the border police and soldiers shot live ammunition after Palestinian villagers hurled stones at them.

On the other side, the IDF Spokesperson said that the soldiers were surrounded by 1,500 Palestinians who threw blocks and glass at them as well.

In response to early Monday's events, a spokesperson on behalf of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeina, told Ynet that "Israel's crimes would have negative consequences" on the peace process.

Other than Monday morning's incident, he also referred to Israel's announcement of the construction of more than 1,600 housing units in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, on lands annexed by Israel during the 1967 Mideast War.

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians resumed on July 30 in Washington D.C. after a three-year halt in talks due to Israel's ongoing construction in the settlements.

Posted in: Mid-East

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