Palestinian PM asserts Israel should honour peace agreements

Ramallah: Israel has to abide by the peace agreements it has signed with Palestine to advance a serious political process, said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye said.

The Prime Minister's appeal was made during a meeting on Wednesday with former US Representative Robert Wexler in the West Bank city of Ramallah, according to a statement issued by Ishtaye's office.

Ishtaye told Wexler that launching a serious peace process with Israel must be preceded by confidence-building measures that have to be taken by the Israeli government, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.

Confidence-building measures should include "allowing the Palestinian side to hold the general elections in East Jerusalem", the statement said.

On Tuesday, Ishtaye had met US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israel and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr.

They discussed measures to build confidence with Israel to resume the peace process, according to the statement.

Shadi Othman, a European Union (EU) communication official in Jerusalem, told state radio Voice of Palestine on Wednesday that "there has to be a breakthrough with regard to building a real political process".

"The EU calls on Israel to start taking tangible measures and improve the lives of the Palestinians, and then build on a real political process that contributes to achieving the vision of the two-state solution," Othman said.

(Inputs from IANS)