Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday described Qatar-based Al Jazeera satellite TV station’s publishing of the leaked Palestinian negotiation documents as "disgraceful," hinting that they may have been leaked by an Arab government.
Following talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Abbas told reporters that publishing the documents "deliberately confuses each side’s positions."
"We don't hide anything from our Arab brothers," Abbas told reporters. "We’ve been briefing our Arab brothers about all our activities with the Israelis and Americans."
On Sunday, Al Jazeera published 1600 confidential documents on its website which revealed that the PA's chief negotiator made unprecedented compromises on dividing Jerusalem and its holy sites during negotiations from 2008 through 2009.
Meanwhile, Abbas said he and Mubarak agreed on the importance of following through with their plan to submit a UN draft condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Abbas went on to say that the Arab foreign ministers agreed during their meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh last week that they were ready to submit the draft, adding, "We are now waiting to find out what will happen in the coming days and we will prepare our proposals accordingly."
In statements to Cairo-based Middle East News Agency (MENA) early Monday, Abbas warned that the PA would make an unexpected decision in the event that peace efforts fail. Abbas said the decision would be announced in September.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
