Abbas: No Agreement Without Sovereign State and East Jerusalem Capital
Image by Getty Images
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian leadership will not agree to a peace deal unless it includes a completely sovereign state with a capital in eastern Jerusalem.
Abbas made the statement Saturday during a meeting of his Fatah Party’s Central Committee, according to reports.
In expressing their support for Abbas, the committee called for Israeli withdrawal – both military and civilian – from the West Bank; rejected Israel’s conditioning a peace agreement on recognition as a Jewish state, and for a resolution of the Palestinian refugee crisis based on United Nations resolution 194.
The committee also supported continuing peace negotiations through the April 29 deadline, and called on Israel to free the fourth group of Palestinian prisoners with no conditions, including the extension of peace talks.
Israel’s Channel 2 reported on Friday night that during his talks in Washington with President Obama, Abbas rejected recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, said he would continue to demand a Palestinian right of return to their former homes in Israel, and would not commit to a peace agreement being an “end of conflict.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
