Abbas: ‘I Choose Bibi as My Partner for Peace’
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told the Tunisian parliament on Monday, “I choose you [Benjamin] Netanyahu as my partner for peace. With whom else can I make peace?”
He qualified the unusual statement, however, by adding that Netanyahu must “choose between settlements and peace.”
Speaking to Tunisia’s interim parliament, Abbas reiterated his demands from Israel: halting construction in the settlements, recognition of the two-state solution and acceptance of the principle of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.
Abbas expressed his willingness to return to negotiations with Israel, but insisted that such a move would be conditional upon Israel halting settlement construction.
He added that the Palestinian Authority’s request that the UN recognize Palestine as an independent state would remain in effect, and that there is no contradiction between the two processes.
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