Summary Israel says its release of each batch of prisoners was conditional on progress in negotiations.
CAIRO (AFP) - Arab foreign ministers on Wednesday met with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas to discuss floundering US-brokered peace talks with Israel ahead of a looming deadline.
Abbas requested the meeting after Israel backtracked on releasing a final batch of Palestinian prisoners and reissued tenders for 708 settler homes in annexed Arab east Jerusalem.
The Palestinians responded to the Israeli decision regarding the prisoners by applying for membership of 15 international treaties, breaking their own commitment to refrain from such action during the nine months of talks.
Their move was welcomed by the Arab ministers gathered on Wednesday in Cairo, as Abbas detailed the latest developments regarding the peace talks.
But it was a blow to US Secretary of State John Kerry s frenetic efforts to resolve the dispute over Palestinian prisoners and find a way to extend the fragile peace talks beyond an April 29 deadline.
Israel says its release of each batch of prisoners was conditional on progress in negotiations.
On Tuesday, Kerry blamed intransigence by both sides but criticized the approval of Jewish settlements in annexed Arab east Jerusalem for derailing peace talks with Palestinians.
The talks have teetered on the brink of collapse, with Washington fighting an uphill battle to get the two sides to agree to a framework proposal to extend the negotiations to the year s end.
