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Abbas asks Spanish FM to push for Israeli settlement freeze

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has asked the Spanish government to push for a freeze on Israeli settlement construction and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported Saturday.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat confirmed this to Spanish media following a meeting held in the Jordanian capital of Amman, between Abbas and Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo.
"Spain will make every necessary effort to ensure the viability of a two-state solution," El Mundo quoted Garcia-Margallo as saying. He stressed the importance of the issue of settlement construction, particularly in the area of E1, which he said would make the two-state solution very difficult to reach.
"We are also interested in the situation of the Palestinian prisoners," the minister added, asserting that his country aims to facilitate dialogue between the Israelis and the Palestinians.