The Palestinian leadership recently rejected an Israeli proposal to renew bilateral negotiations under Jordanian auspices, The Times of Israel reported Thursday, June 7. According to a report in the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, after the Kadima party joined Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition in May, the new Israeli government attempted to reopen exploratory negotiation channels with Mahmoud Abbas. Netanyahu’s special envoy Yitzhak Molcho met with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in Amman in January, but the meeting led to no consensus. On Tuesday, President Barack Obama told Orthodox Jewish leaders that Abbas may be too weak politically to deliver a peace deal. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Wednesday that negotiations between the sides were indeed impossible until Israel halted settlement construction, recognized the principle of a Palestinian state with 1967 borders, and released Palestinian prisoners.