Themba Rubushe, chief director for the Middle East in the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, told Israel’s ambassador Arthur Lenk that Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlements on the West Bank and its reneging on an agreement to release 26 Palestinian prisoners had deadlocked the Middle East peace talks.

Rubushe said that when the negotiations had started in July last year, US Secretary of State John Kerry had announced, on behalf of the parties, that the process would culminate in a final resolution on all the final status issues.

“However, during… March 2014, Israel refused to submit to a long-outstanding agreement of the release of the last group of 26 Palestinian prisoners and instead chose to trade the release of prisoners for the extension of peace talks beyond 29 April 2014.

Available: http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/sa-official-puts-blame-on-israel-1.1695292#.U4glAXa59ts