RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said Tuesday that comments by US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney that the Palestinians did not want peace were “absolutely unacceptable.”

“We consider these statements absolutely unacceptable,” he told AFP.

A recording released on Tuesday shows Romney telling donors that the Palestinians “have no interest whatsoever” in peace with Israel.

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“No one has an interest in peace more than the Palestinian people, because peace for the Palestinian people and the Palestinian leadership means freedom and independence from the Israeli occupation,” Erakat said.

“No one loses from the failure to achieve peace more than our people and its leadership, because it means the continuation of the occupation and the (Israeli) settlements (in the occupied territories) and the continuing tragedy of our people.”