Abbas dismisses idea of dismantling PA

President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday dismissed the idea of dismantling the Palestinian Authority, during an interview with Japanese media. "Where do the writers of such reports get their ideas and information from," Abbas replied when asked by Japanese media about the proposal raised in a US magazine. Yossi Beilin, one of the authors of the Oslo Accords, made the appeal in Foreign Policy magazine. Regarding a letter being sent to Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, next week, Abbas said it would highlight the negative effects of settlement activity. "There is no such term called the end of the peace process, however the history confirms that there is something called the end of the occupation," he said. The United States will hopefully put forward ideas to bring both sides to the negotiating table, he added. The president said he has not changed his mind about not running for reelection, stressing that the next leader must win democratically.