Abbas: Israel sabotaging so-called peace talks

Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas said Israel is sabotaging the so-called peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis. Abbas made the remarks in a speech at the 25th Arab League summit in Kuwait on Tuesday, saying Tel Aviv is not giving the talks a chance to reach an agreement, using every opportunity to sabotage the negotiations, press tv reported. Abbas also said during the negotiations Tel Aviv has been adding new demands, including the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and the continuation of its settlement expansion plans. He further noted that the Israeli regime is not willing to end its occupation of Palestinian territories. “This proves that Israel isn’t serious in the negotiations about withdrawing from the occupied territories and achieving peace,” he said. PA has also reiterated that the Palestinians will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Abbas said during an emergency meeting of the Fatah Central Committee in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday that the Palestinian Authority would not agree to anything less than a fully-autonomous state of Palestine with East al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital. “We are not going to surrender our rights under any kind of pressure and threats,” he said, adding, “We reject any attempt to blackmail the Palestinians.” The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks broke down in 2010 after the Tel Aviv regime refused to halt its settlement construction. Israel’s settlement activities remain the main obstacle to the peace in the region.