A three-week long round of meetings in the Jordanian capital, Amman, between the Palestinian and Israeli negotiators; Saeb Erekat and Isaac Molkho, has ended without having led to a resumption in negotiations or any other steps forward for the political process.
Palestinian and Israeli sources have said that in light of the PA’s insistence on a halt to illegal settlement construction as a precondition to the resumption of negotiations, alongside Tel Aviv's continued refusal to comply with any Palestinian demands, the meetings in Amman yielded no progress.
The speaker of the Egyptian People's Assembly, Dr Saad El Katatni, has declined an invitation to visit Tel Aviv from his Israeli counterpart; Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin.
Thousands of Egyptians from all political trends gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Wednesday on the first anniversary of the 25 January Revolution which ousted Hosni Mubarak. The chants of the huge crowd reflected the demands of the revolution.
The President of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, Mahmoud Abbas, has said that he is ready to return to the negotiation table with the Israelis if they recognise a Palestinian state along pre-1967 borders. In a press conference after his meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah on Wednesday, January 25, Abbas declared, "If we can set the borders, we can return to negotiations, but Israel does not want to do that." With regards to security arrangements, the President said that he is ready for any requests from Israel provided that no Israeli is left on Palestinian territory.
Turkey's Union of Agricultural Chambers has announced that its members will begin a boycott of all French products after Paris approved a law criminalising denial of the Armenian genocide. Media reports in Turkey say that the boycott of French agricultural products forms part of the sanctions the government in Ankara is starting to impose on France.
