'Israel suspends peace talks'

A senior Palestinian negotiator said this afternoon that Israel had suspended peace talks until further notice

A senior Palestinian negotiator said this afternoon that Israel had suspended peace talks until further notice

Saeb Erekat said he had been due to hold talks with his Israeli counterpart, Gilead Sher, who had informed him before the start of the meeting that Israel had decided to suspend talks until further notice.

"They told me there would be no meeting tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after," Mr Erekat told The Associated Press. He said he had told Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of the decision which he called regrettable. "It is obvious that the Israeli government is trying to assign blame to us, but on the other hand, they are closing all the doors to any progress," he said.