Abbas: Deal with Israel must provide for independent Palestinian state

Ex-PA negotiator Shtayyeh says peace talks with Israel are "pointlesss"; calls for international summit on issue.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Abbas looking unhappy 370 (photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman)
Abbas looking unhappy 370
(photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman)
As Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas restated his goals for negotiations with Israel, recently-resigned PA negotiator Mohamed Shtayyeh said that Israel was not a “serious” peace partner.
Abbas said over the weekend that he would not sign any agreement with Israel that did not establish an independent Palestinian state.
Abbas also reiterated his insistence on finding a solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees based on the guidelines of the Arab Peace Initiative published in 2002.
He vowed to continue working to secure the release of all Palestinian prisoners in the frame of a future peace agreement with Israel.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Shtayyeh said in an interview with Palestine TV on Saturday that the Israeli government’s decision to return to the peace talks was a “tactical move to appease the international community.”
Israel, he charged, has not changed its strategy, which is “based on settlements, destruction and arrests.”
Shtayyeh said that the peace talks were “pointless” in light of continued construction in the settlements. He called for holding an international conference to solve the Israeli- Palestinian conflict like the recent Geneva meetings on Syria and Iran.