Mahmoud Abbas Suggests He Might Agree To Extend Peace Talks
Image by getty images
The Palestinians would extend the current peace negotiations if Israel agrees to a three-month settlement construction freeze during which the sides would agree on the borders of a future Palestinian state.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told Israeli journalists in Ramallah on Tuesday that he also would require Israel to release the fourth group of 26 of 104 Palestinian prisoners that Israel agreed to release at the outset of the talks.
He also reportedly said that he would continue to coordinate security with Israel, despite the outcome of the talks.
“If Israel believes in the two-state solution, let us sit at the table and see where Israel is. In other words, let’s define the borders,” Abbas said.
He told reporters that if the talks end then the P.A. would “collapse,” leaving Israel responsible for the Palestinians in the West Bank. The remark appears to address statements attributed to Abbas in which he reportedly threatened to dismantle the P.A. in the wake of failed peace talks.
“Israel’s policies toward us have taken away any and all authority from the PA, therefore if it’s dismantled or not will not be relevant. We presented our framework for renewing the talks, and our willingness to continue the talks for nine more months, on condition that they focus on the core issues,” Abbas said.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon in Jerusalem in an attempt to extend the talks beyond their April 29 deadline.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
