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Peace Talks with Israel Stalled, But Not Over - Abbas

© Sputnik / Sergei Piatakov / Go to the mediabankPalestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas - Sputnik International
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Peace Negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis have stalled, but there is still hope to continue the dialogue, Egyptian newspaper Al-Masri al-Yaum reported on Wednesday, quoting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Peace Negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis have stalled, but there is still hope to continue the dialogue, Egyptian newspaper Al-Masri al-Yaum reported on Wednesday, quoting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

“Negotiations with Israel, despite the best efforts of the Quartet of international mediators and other states, unfortunately, have stalled,” the Palestinian leader said in an interview.

According to Abbas, there are no secret talks with Israel now, but the consultations of representatives of the security forces, which are not publicized, take place nearly every day. This is what allows the head of the Palestinian authorities to say that “there is not a complete break in the relationship between the parties yet.”

Abbas believes that now the peace process is in extreme danger and not only Palestinians and Israelis should be concerned, but all the countries. “If we won’t achieve peace [with the Israelis], I can’t imagine what might happen. There should be a desire from both sides, the Palestinians and Israel, in the present circumstances. Palestinians are ready to continue the dialogue,” Abbas said.

The Palestinian-Israeli talks stalled in September 2010 over disagreements on Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. Palestinians said they would not resume negotiations unless the construction stopped.

The Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, partially occupied by Israel, and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and want Israel to pull out from the Palestinian territories occupied after the 1967 war.

Israel, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to raise the issue of Jerusalem, which it says is the indivisible capital of the Jewish state.

 

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