Arab member of the Israeli Knesset Member, Ibrahim Sarsur, from the United Arab List-Ta`al, met on Sunday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and senior ministers of the Hamas-led government in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Following the meeting, Sarsur said that in the meeting he wanted to take advantage of his status as a member of Knesset and as a representative of the Islamic Movement in Israel to meet with senior Palestinian officials in an attempt to advance the stalled peace process and achieve stability in the region for the sake of the Jewish and Arab nations.
Sarsur met with Abbas, the Palestinian finance and education ministers, and Palestinian Legislative Council head, Aziz Dweik.
The meeting focused mainly on the detainees’ document, the distribution of authority in the Palestinian Authority (PA), and the reorganization of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in a way that would enable it to represent the entire Palestinian nation. The reorganization means the inclusion of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the PLO.
He added that the Palestinians should solve their differences and recognize the agreements signed with Israel. But the Palestinian leadership said that it cannot recognize these agreements until Israel recognizes the Palestinian right of independence and the right to establish a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
Sarsur also said that he believes Hamas will accept the past agreements but under the condition that Israel announces that it recognizes the Palestinians’ right to establish a state within the 1967 borders.
“Israel must announce immediately that the direction is the establishment of a Palestinian state within the ’67 borders, or else it will be solely responsible for what will transpire,” Sarsur added.
