Abbas: Israel must resume negotiations, leave Arab lands

[Behind the Aegis]

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday called on Israel to resume negotiations toward a final peace settlement, insisting on a full Israeli pullout from the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.

In a prerecorded speech broadcast on Palestinian TV, Abbas appealed to Israel, "Don't waste the chance of peace." He said a solution depends on Israel "recognizing our national rights, withdrawal from our lands and our Jerusalem, implementation of the international resolutions and finding a just solution and agreed upon to the issue of refugees."

Arab leaders and top U.S., European and United Nations diplomats held key talks in the Egyptian capital on Wednesday in an attempt to revive the Arab-Israeli peace process, even as Palestinian rocket attacks killed one person in Sderot and left two seriously wounded.

The attack came shortly before Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met with Abbas in Cairo for talks on forming a new Palestinian national unity government key to reviving peace hopes.


more...