Abbas stresses 2-state solution

Visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas renewed Friday his commitment to the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stressing the necessity of the Palestinian reconciliation. Addressing the Lebanese Journalists Union and foreign correspondents, Abbas said that "we do not accept the one-state solution in Palestine. We only accept the two-state solution. As for the settlements, this is a fact we cannot accept and all the settlements that rose since 1967 are illegal and this is the basis of our negotiations." The Palestinian Authority is sticking to the two-state solution, with a Palestinian state living in peace next to an Israeli state. As regards Fatah's reconciliation with Hamas, Abbas stressed that "Hamas is part of the Palestinian people and we want to reconcile with them and we do not want to exclude anyone. Our Palestinian people are united around one word: Palestine." Abbas is expected to end a three-day visit to Lebanon on Friday. During his stay, he held talks with his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and PM-designate Tammam Salam.