Abbas: We are prepared to discuss with Israel ending of ‘mutual incitement’

Abbas warned against “settler assaults” on holy sites in Jerusalem, saying this could lead to a religious conflict.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Updated: APRIL 6, 2016 00:05
Mahmoud Abbas (photo credit: REUTERS)
Mahmoud Abbas
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday he was prepared to work with Israel to stop and monitor “mutual incitement” between the two sides.
Abbas told visiting Romanian journalists in his office that he has called for the reformation of the Palestinian-Israeli-American committee for monitoring incitement that was established 15 years ago, and that he was working toward the achievement of a two-state solution by establishing a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital on the pre-1967 lines that would live in peace and stability alongside Israel.
“We want to hear a clear statement from the Israeli government that it believes in the two-state solution,” Abbas said. “If it agrees to this, the beginning of the solution will be ready and we will negotiate about the other issues.”
Abbas said settlements were the major obstacle to peace and they, therefore, were “demanding a full cessation of settlement activities in the Palestinian territories.”
The Palestinians, he said, are seeking a UN Security Council resolution that condemns settlements and calls for an immediate cessation of settlement activities.
Once the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is solved, he said 57 Arab and Islamic countries would be ready to normalize relations with Israel in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002.
The PA president also warned, once again, against “settler assaults” on the holy sites in Jerusalem, saying it could lead to a religious conflict.
“The Palestinians are against Israeli occupation and not the Jewish religion,” he stressed. “We are against all forms of terrorism and extremism.”