Abbas spokesman: If new Israeli gov't won't recognize 2-state solution, no chance for peace process
Nabil Abu Rudeineh says that the PA will continue to work with any Israeli government that recognizes "legitimate international resolutions."
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHPA President Mahmoud Abbas (C) at a meeting for the Central Council of the PLO, in Ramallah, March 4, 2015(photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday expressed “deep concern” over the talk in Israel about the end of the two-state solution.Speaking at the beginning of a meeting of PLO leaders in Ramallah, Abbas accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman of racism because of their recent statements.Abbas was referring to Netanyahu’s pre-election statement that there would be no Palestinian state on his watch and Liberman’s remarks against Arab citizens of Israel.“If this talk is correct, this means that the Israeli government is not serious about a political solution that would lead to two states on the basis of international legitimacy,” Abbas said. “We won’t backtrack from demanding the implementation of international resolutions, and we have the right to go to everyone in the world to achieve our rights.”Abbas stressed that the Palestinians do not interfere in the internal affairs of Israel. However, he added, “We are entitled to ask about the rights of the Arabs and how they would gain their rights as citizens.”Meanwhile, the PLO Executive decided to entrust its political committee and the heads of the Palestinian security forces to prepare a detailed plan to halt security coordination with Israel and discuss economic relations with Israel.The victory of the right-wing bloc in the Israeli election “requires that all regional and international powers stand firmly against this approach, which is destructive to the peace process and leads to the continuation of occupation, racism, and the deprivation of our people from their right to self-determination on their land,” the PLO said.The PLO condemned what it called Netanyahu’s “racist campaign” against Israeli Arabs and the establishment of a Palestinian state.The PLO also applauded Israeli Arabs for running in the election on the Joint List and “confronting racism.”The organization said that the Palestinians would pursue their efforts to join the International Criminal Court and file charges against Israel because of its policy of settlements and “recurring aggression” against the Palestinians.
