Abbas: “We Are Willing To Listen to Suggestions, Alternatives To UN Move”

Sunday August 28, 2011 07:11 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated Saturday that the Palestinian leadership is willing to listen to proposals and suggestions from the International Community to return to the negotiations table with Israel, instead of heading to the UN in September.

Palestinian President - Mahmoud Abbas, Arabs48.com

Abbas added that the Palestinian decision to head to the UN this September to seek full Palestinian membership, and international recognition of the Palestinian right to statehood, does not aim at isolating Israel, or confronting the United States.

“Accepting Palestine as a member state at the UN will set the foundations for peace, justice, stability and coexistence, instead of the current aggression, assaults and injustice”, Abbas said, “We are asking the US, the West and Israel, to show us what plans they have, but so far, nothing has been presented”.

The Palestinian president also said that the Palestinians are demanding an independent state on %22 of the historic land of Palestine (The West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem”).

“The idleness of the International Community and its inability to stop Israel’s aggression and ongoing construction of settlements pushes us to head to the United Nations”, Abbas added, “We are heading to the UN to demand our internationally guaranteed rights, rights assured by all resolutions, the Geneva Conventions, and all related international treaties”.

As for resuming peace talks with Israel, Abbas said that heading to the UN does not mean voiding negotiations with Israel, and added that real negotiations must be based on clear principles, such as halting all settlement activities, all invasions and assaults”.

“These are strategic principles we cannot abandon”, the president explained, “Our demands are not preconditions, they are our rights, guaranteed by International Law”.

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