The demand casts a cloud of uncertainty over months of US mediation efforts because Israel is weary of agreeing to preconditions, arguing it has not led to successful peace talks in the past. Palestinian officials said they wanted guarantees to ensure peace talks would lead to fruition.
Hoping to push Israelis and Palestinians toward talks, US President Barack Obama asked Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to work with Kerry "to resume negotiations with Palestinians as soon as possible," according to a statement released by the White House late yesterday.
A US official said Kerry will meet today with Erekat in Amman, Jordan. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss Kerry's schedule publicly, said there are no immediate plans for Kerry to meet an Israeli negotiator.
Abu Yussef was referring to Israel's de facto border that separates the Jewish state from the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories that Israel conquered in the 1967 Mideast war, alongside the Gaza Strip.
Abu Yussef said Erekat would also ask for more clarifications from Kerry on what Israel expects from negotiations.
He said Palestinians did not want to reject Kerry's efforts to restart negotiations outright. Another official in the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity, said they felt pressure from Palestinians to not restart negotiations if they could not be seen producing substantive outcomes.