Palestinians downbeat despite US backtracking

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Kuwaiti Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Sabah Qlors (L) and Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa (R) attend a meeting in Marrakech on Monday. Hillary met her counterparts on the sidelines of the Sixth Future Forum, organised by Morocco and Italy. Photo: AFP

The Palestinians remained pessimistic about the likelihood of relaunching peace talks with Israel despite US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's attempt to clarify earlier remarks about settlements.
During a visit to Morocco, Hillary told Arab leaders that Washington remained opposed to all Israeli settlement activity after she had praised an Israeli offer to ease construction as "unprecedented" during a visit to Jerusalem.
Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki said Monday he was "satisfied" with Clinton's clarifications, but the Palestinian Authority (PA) insisted on Tuesday it would not relaunch talks without a complete settlement freeze.
"Clinton's backtracking on her remarks, especially with regard to the partial freeze of settlements, is not sufficient to restart negotiations with Israel," PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.
"The administration must compel Israel to halt all settlements in the Palestinian territories, including natural growth and settlement activity in east Jerusalem."
The Palestinian press remained intensely pessimistic that US President Barack Obama would follow through on his demand that Israel halt settlement activity, seen as the main obstacle to relaunching the peace process.