Abbas to Meretz delegation: Settlements will destroy peace

President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday told a delegation from the leftist Israeli party, Meretz he met in Ramallah, that the intensified Israeli government’s settlement projects will destroy the peace process. Abbas told the delegation, headed by party leader Zahava Galon, that the Palestinians were still committed to a peace process based on international resolutions and the two-state solution that will lead to an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. He said that permanent status issues will be resolved only through negotiations but after a halt in all settlement activities in the Palestinian territories, particularly in Jerusalem. Abbas said that the new Israeli projects are a red line for the Palestinian leadership, which is going to work with all parties to stop them. Meretz delegates expressed support for the two-state solution and congratulated Abbas and the Palestinian people for becoming a non-member observer state in the United Nations.