Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he remains doubtful that Israel and the Palestinian Authority can agree on a peace deal by the end of the current year. Speaking to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
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on Saturday afternoon, Abbas said that despite the efforts invested by both sides since the Annapolis Peace Conference in late 2007 there was little chance of realizing the 2008 deadline.
"The solution we Palestinian want must provide a permanent solution to all the core issues, not one of the six should be postponed," said Abbas. He stressed that there was no truth to reports that the PA would accept rule over parts of Jerusalem in exchange for dropping the right of return from its list of demands.
"Both Jerusalem and the right of return are Palestinian rights," he said.
Abbas with Mubarak on Saturday (Photo: AP)
Abbas also discussed Egyptian attempts to reconcile the warring Palestinian factions, saying Cairo was making every effort to present a unified Palestinian position to the Arab League in the hopes the latter will launch its initiative to mediate between Fatah and Hamas.
"Egypt's efforts in this matter are sincere and earnest," Abbas flattered his host Mubarak.
He noted that the Egyptian initiative will not only focus on resuscitating the dialogue between the factions but also on the nature of the future Palestinian government to be established after the reconciliation, and on preparing the Palestinian Authority for both presidential and general elections.
The possibility of deploying Arab troops in the Gaza Strip will be discussed at a later point, Abbas confirmed.
Abbas voiced a similar sentiment on Friday, telling President Shimon Peres it "appears as if we will not be able to reach full agreement on the issues of Jerusalem, borders, refugees and water by the end of the year."
The two met in Italy, where both attended a conference in Cernobbio.
"But we are determined to continue accelerated diplomatic negotiations concurrently with the change of administration in the United States," Abbas was quoted as saying.
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