Palestinians receive little in Israeli-proposed land-swap deal
Land swaps reportedly proposed by Israel leave Palestinians with the short end of the stick.
![Israeli soldiers stand next to a Palestinian man they detained during clashes with stone-throwing protesters near Ramallah Israeli soldiers stand next to a Palestinian man they detained during clashes with stone-throwing protesters at a weekly demonstration against the West Bank Jewish settlement of Beit El, in Jalazoun refugee camp, near Ramallah February 14, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX18TLF](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2014/RTX18TLF.jpg/RTX18TLF.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=KP5WpDtl)
The current Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, planned to last nine months, have one month left to produce a peace treaty. Palestinian officials are on record as refusing to extend the talks, while the Israelis are sending clear messages that they want the talks to be extended. In a statement made to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, the presidential spokesman outlined two issues that the Palestinians have a problem with.
"We will not accept a Palestinian state without East Jerusalem as its capital. We will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state," Nabil Abu Rdeineh, the official spokesperson of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, was quoted as saying.