RAMALLAH, June 7, 2011 (WAFA) – Saeb Erekat, member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive Committee and chief negotiator, denied Tuesday Israeli reports that he had held talks in Washington with an Israeli official.

Israeli media reported Monday that Erekat, who is in Washington with presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh for talks with US officials, had met secretly with Israeli envoy Yitzhak Molcho.

“There are no negotiations or talks or even meetings at any level with Israelis,” Erekat told Voice of Palestine.

He said he is in Washington for talks with US officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and that the topic of their meetings revolved around reviving the political process.

Erekat assured the US officials that the negotiations would resume the minute Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly declares his acceptance of negotiations based on the 1967 borders and stops all settlement activities.

He also said that by seeking in September a United Nations membership of a Palestinian state with recognized borders, the Palestinian Authority was not trying to do away with Israel’s legitimacy, rather to only declare the occupation illegitimate.

He said the two sides discussed as well reconciliation, where Erekat assured the US officials that reconciliation with Hamas will not change President Mahmoud Abbas’ commitment to a negotiated and peaceful settlement to the conflict with Israel.

M.A.