Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Abbas Says He Will Not Compromise on Borders and Status of Jerusalem

Mahmoud Abbas said he will not compromise during peace negotiations on core issues such as final borders and the status of Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Authority president also said in an interview with the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper that he rejects Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that he recognize Israel as a Jewish state. He said the issue is a ploy by Netanyahu to deny Israeli Arabs the right of return to their former homes in Israel.

Meanwhile, Abbas told reporters late Monday that he has asked the United States “to intervene on the settlement issue” and prevent Netanyahu from lifting a 10-month freeze on construction in the West Bank.

Israel has said it will not extend the freeze, which is scheduld to end Sept. 26, though it may only lift the freeze in settlement blocs that are likely to remain with Israel in a final peace deal. Abbas has said he will quit the peace negotiations if the freeze does not remain in place.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.