Demands Israel's approval. Abbas
Photo: AFP
US President Obama
Photo: CNN
Abbas to press Obama for 2-state deal
Following meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, Palestinian leader says will tell US administration conditions for resuming talks with Israel based on two-state solution, 'Israel's halt of settlement building as well as house demolitions'
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday he will tell US President Barack Obama this month that resuming peace talks with Israel hinges on its approval of a two-state solution.
House Demolitions
If implemented, 1,500 demolition orders will leave about 9,000 Palestinians in capital homeless, world body's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs claims
"We will go the Washington on May 28 to talk with the US administration about our conditions to resume peace negotiations with Israel in the future," Abbas was quoted in a palace statement after meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II.
"Our conditions and demands are based on the two-state solution and Israel's halt of settlement building as well as house demolitions. These are our demands and the demands of the Americans themselves to resume the talks."
Israeli settlements in the West Bank- supported by the largely right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - are one of the main stumbling blocks in the troubled Middle East peace process.
Netanyahu has so far failed to publicly endorse the creation of a Palestinian state, a principle strongly backed by the White House.
The Palestinians are demanding that Netanyahu back a two-state solution - to which Israel committed itself under the roadmap peace plan launched by the international community in 2003 -- before the two sides resume talks.
