Fatah: No change in position on refugees' right to return

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denied that he gave up the Palestinian refugees’ right to return. Abbas called the return a “sacred right” and said he was fully committed to the Palestine, sources said.This came after his interview with Israeli Channel 2 TV on November 2 which stirred a large-scale political storm both in Israel and Palestine. Abbas said in the interview: "For me, Palestine is the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem; I am a refugee, I live in Ramallah, the West Bank and Gaza is Palestine, all the rest is Israel." It was reported that audience members assumed Abbas gave up the right to return to Palestine. The Israeli political leadership did not give the incident any credibility but Hamas accused him of treason. Within a day of the interview, Palestinian news agency Wafa published the text of an interview Abbas with Egyptian TV channel al-Hayat on Saturday in Amman. In the interview, Abbas complained of he was misquoted by media channels. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Fatah said that the right to return is "sacred", and that it and the other basic issues would be discussed in the framework of the permanent-status agreement with Israel. The statement said the refugee issue would be negotiated on the basis of UN resolution 194, which mentions the principle of the right of return with compensation for those who do not choose to return. After an agreement is reached with Israel, the statement explained, it would be presented for approval in a popular referendum. Fatah said "the president and the Palestinian leadership will never agree to a state with temporary borders, since whoever agrees to a temporary state [hinting at Hamas] is the one who gives up the right of return."