May PNA move to direct talks in September due to U.S. pressure?
17:07, July 13, 2010 
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U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell waves to the media beside chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat (2nd R) before Mitchell's meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (not pictured) in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 2, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)
by Saud Abu Ramadan
It has been obvious that over the past two weeks, the U.S. administration has been exerting pressure on the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to move from the proximity talks with Israel to the face-to-face negotiations over the permanent status issues.
The Ramallah-based al-Ayyam Daily on Monday quoted senior Palestinian sources as saying that U.S. peace envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, who will arrive in Ramallah on Saturday, would urge the PNA to move to the face-to-face peace negotiations with Israel in September.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Monday told Xinhua that Mitchell will hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Saturday.
Erekat denied that Mitchell would urge the Palestinian side to move from proximity talks to direct talks in September.
"The Palestinian side is sticking to its stance that it is important to achieve a progress in the files of security and borders in addition to the complete cessation of settlement construction and accept to resume the peace talks from the point it ended in December 2008," said Erekat.
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（Editor：燕勐）
On Sept. 28, tourists travel around the Mingshashan Scenic Area in Dunhuang, Gansu province by camel. With the National Day vacation right around the corner, more and more tourists from home and abroad are going to Dunhuang. Riding on a camel, they travel in the desert to enjoy the cities rare form of natural scenery. (Xinhua/Zhang Weixian)
Chinese forest armed forces work together with forest firefighters on Sept. 28. (Xinhua/Chai Liren)
Photo taken on Sept. 29, 2011 shows strong wind blows trees in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province. Typhoon Nesat heads towards south China and is moving at an average wind speed of 20 km per hour toward the west coast of China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Hou Jiansen)
A fallen tree is seen on a road in Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province, Sept. 29, 2011. Typhoon Nesat was predicted to land in Hainan later Thursday, bringing heavy rainfalls to the island. (Xinhua/Meng Zhongde) 
Arash Kamalvand (L) of Iran spikes the ball during the semifinal against South Korea at the 16th Asian Men's Volleyball Championship in Tehran, Iran, Sept. 28, 2011. Iran won 3-1 to advance to the final. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz) 
A man visits "Thy Word Is Truth, the Bible Ministry Exhibition of the Protestant Church in China", during its opening at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in Washington DC, capital of the United States, Sept. 28, 2011. Through the Bible's various Chinese versions, ancient or modern, as well as pictures, paintings, calligraphy, art works and historical documents, the exhibition was expected to give an overall understanding of how Bible was brought into China, how it was translated, published, distributed and loved. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun)
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7064322.pdf