Abbas hopeful US-sponsored conference on Mideast will advance peace process

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday he hoped for palpable results toward the creation of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital at a US-sponsored Mideast peace conference in November.

In a speech read to a conference on the rights of Palestinians, Abbas warned the seizure of the Gaza Strip by Islamic Hamas militants in June should not be an excuse for the international community to abandon the peace process. (AP)