Abbas re-affirms terms for pursuing peace talks

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel must release Palestinian prisoners and demarcate the borders and freeze settlements' construction if it desires to pursue negotiations. Abbas, talking to a group of Israeli journalists in Ramallah, said the United States' paper that had been delivered as a basis to resume the peace talks stated that the negotiations must be based on "the 1967 borders and the two states' solution." "However Israel has stripped the Palestinian Authority of its powers and if it wishes to continue abstaining from giving the authority its rights, it better take charge of the administration," said Abbas said, expressing frustration at Israel's intransigent policy. Abbas has threatened to dissolve the Palestinian Authority in retaliation for Tel Aviv's unwavering stance of not giving concessions in the peace process. Officials from the two sides have held a series of rounds of talks, without any tangible progress on the thorny issues. Source: KUNA