JERUSALEM, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said a Palestinian negotiator broke an agreement not to speak to the news media about talks between the two countries.
Israel has honored the agreement but Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat has not, Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, The Jerusalem Post reported Monday.
"We decided in advance that we would not talk about what happens in the talks," the prime minister said.
Netanyahu said Erekat "will not budge a nanometer" in his positions concerning talks.
Erekat and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have demanded Israel halt settlement construction and meet other conditions before direct negotiations can proceed.
Netanyahu said the two sides disagreed on a deadline for presenting proposals on borders and security to the Middle East Quartet -- the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia -- which is mediating the peace process between the Israelis and Palestinians.
The Palestinians say the deadline is Jan. 26; the Israelis, April 3. Netanyahu said the 90-day countdown to the deadline did not begin until after the two sides met Jan. 3
Netanyahu said Israel gave the Palestinians a 21-point document this month that would receive unanimous backing in his country.
On peace talks, he said, "Treaties are good, but in our reality security comes before peace."
