BICOM

A delegation of 250 Israeli students met with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah yesterday and quizzed him on various aspects of the peace process.

During the meeting, coordinated by Labour MK Hilik Bar, the chair of the Knesset Caucus for the Promotion of a Solution for the Israeli-Arab Conflict and the One Voice organisation, Abbas said “There is no other solution in this region except peace.”

When pushed by the audience over the details of a peace agreement, Abbas appeared to re-state many of his previously-stated positions. According to Haaretz, he said the Palestinians want to negotiate borders based on the pre-1967 borders with agreed land swaps. On the subject of Jerusalem, Abbas said, “We do not want to re-divide Jerusalem” and suggested a Palestinian municipality working alongside an Israeli municipality. However, Abbas insisted that the PA would not share sovereignty over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a holy site for Jews and Muslims.

Abbas also refused to recognise Israel as a characteristically Jewish state, a key demand by Israeli leaders who view it as mutual recognition at the foundation of a two-state solution. He said that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could “turn to the United Nations” for such recognition. On Palestinian refugees Abbas said, “we will not seek to flood Israel with millions of refugees to change its social character,” in an apparent indication, not for the first time, of flexibility over the Palestinian demand for the right of return.

Abbas also claimed that, “I received more than one indication from Hamas that they would stand behind me in case of a peace agreement.” However, Hamas released a statement condemning yesterday’s event, saying: “These meetings are a normalization of relations with Israeli citizens and serve their image in the world.”