Abbas defiant in speech of
'3 noes'
Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says the Palestinians will not recognize
Israel as a Jewish state, will not agree to any deal that does not make east
Jerusalem the future Palestinian capital and will not give up the right of
return.
The Palestinians will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in a speech at the Muqataa government compound in Ramallah on Saturday.
Abbas made the
speech ahead of his planned trip to Paris for the Arab League
conference, where he will ask for support for U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry's emerging framework peace proposal.
The Palestinian leader added another two stipulations regarding a future peace agreement in his speech: There will
be no deal unless east Jerusalem becomes the capital of a future
Palestinian state and the right of return for Palestinian refugees is
left in their own hands.
In a speech reminiscent of the 1967 Khartoum Resolution, in which the Arab League stated what is now known as the "three noes" -- no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it -- Abbas further stated that the Jordan Valley was an integral part of a Palestinian state.
Abbas made these statements despite the fact that the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations are at a sensitive stage.
Meanwhile, Kerry met the foreign ministers of Arab League countries on
Monday, and told them that Washington was determined to move forward
with the peace process. He added that the talks were at a stage that
required tough decisions from Abbas and Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, and asked for support from the Arab League for ongoing peace
negotiations.
Palestinian Authority
Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said that Arab League foreign ministers
told Kerry they refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and added
that they also back the Palestinian stance of rejecting any proposal
that did not include east Jerusalem as the capital of a future
Palestinian state.
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