Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday that his country was ready to engage in a reconciliation dialogue with Israel, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not believe in the possibility of peace between the two countries and it complicated the situation
RAMALLAH (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th November, 2019) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday that his country was ready to engage in a reconciliation dialogue with Israel, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not believe in the possibility of peace between the two countries and it complicated the situation.According to Abbas, there was a certain progress in the reconciliation process between Palestine and Israel when Yitzhak Rabin, Netanyahu's predecessor, was the prime minister of Israel. The 1995 assassination of Rabin and subsequent power shift brought the peace process to a standstill, Abbas said.
"Then Benjamin Netanyahu came to power. In our opinion, he does not believe in peace and does not want peace, so it is impossible to make any agreements with him. We are ready for dialogue with Israel and its leadership on the basis of the two-state principle, international legitimacy, UN resolutions, in particular, UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which was supported by all countries, including the United States, which abstained from voting," the Palestinian president stated.
All recent attempts to reach a peace deal with Israel failed because of Netanyahu neglecting to participate in the talks, Abbas said.
"Nevertheless, we still place our hopes on the world community, on the Israeli society. There are people in Israel who want a peaceful settlement, and I believe that if they are given an opportunity to act, and America withdraws from the peace process, we can find a right solution together with Israel," he added.
Israel has been in conflict with the Palestinian Authority for decades and refuses to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity. During the Six-Day War, the Israeli forces occupied the territory of the West Bank. Despite the protests of Palestinians and many members of the international community, Israel refuses to abandon the territory and regularly conducts raids there under the pretext of searching for wanted Palestinians.
