Abbas: PA ready to present positions on final status issues

PA president says he will not resume negotiations with Israel unless it halts construction in settlements, accepts two-state solution.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Palestinian flag Abbas speech_311 (photo credit: Reuters)
Palestinian flag Abbas speech_311
(photo credit: Reuters)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday he remained committed to the peace process, but stressed he will not resume negotiations with Israel unless it halted construction in the settlements and accepted the two-state solution.
Abbas told visiting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman these were not Palestinian conditions but obligations the Israeli government is required to fulfill under the terms of the road map for peace in the Middle East.
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Abbas said Israeli agreement to fulfill its commitments would guarantee the resumption of the peace talks.
Abbas also told the top US diplomat the Palestinians have presented to the Quartet their “comprehensive views” on security and borders. The Palestinians are also prepared to present their positions on all the final status issues, Abbas was quoted as saying during the meeting.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported Abbas affirmed his determination to proceed with the Palestinian statehood bid at the UN.
“The purpose of the Palestinian move is to consolidate the two-state solution and not to isolate or delegitimize Israel,” Abbas told Feltman.
Abbas, according to Wafa, also requested Washington’s assistance in putting pressure on Israel to release Palestinians who were imprisoned before the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993.
Abbas maintains that former prime minister Ehud Olmert had promised him Israel would free Fatahaffiliated prisoners when and if Hamas inmates are released in return for Gilad Schalit.