Palestinian hands still extended for peace with Israel: Abbas

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said late on Saturday night that the Palestinian hands are still extended for peace with Israel after Israel closed the doors for dialogue.

"Neither they (Israelis) eliminate us nor we eliminate them ... they have their state and we do have ours," Abbas told a conference held on Saturday in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

"Doors for dialogue with the Israelis were closed, "but we didn't close it and our hands are still extended for peace," he said.

Abbas added that the resumption of dialogue with Israel "must be based on stopping settlement, implementing and respecting the former peace accords and agreements."

"If Israel doesn't respect and implement the simple agreements, how could it respect a permanent peace agreement," said Abbas.

He noted that the Palestinians are honest by calling for dialogues and meetings based on halting settlement and implementing the former peace agreements and respecting it.

In June 3, an international ministerial meeting was held in France with the participation of 25 foreign ministers, including four Arab countries to debate the revival of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

The meeting was held in accordance with an initiative presented by France several months ago aiming at holding an international conference for peace in the Middle East and to find an international mechanism to resolve the conflict in the region.

Source : QNA