By Xinhua
Ramallah : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will deliver a speech about Annapolis peace conference when he returns to the West Bank, sources at Abbas’ office said on Sunday.
The sources did not reveal the date of the public speech. After participating in the U.S.-hosted peace conference which convened on Nov. 27, Abbas visited Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia en route to Ramallah.
According to the sources, Abbas will address “the principles which the Palestinian negotiator must stick to.” During the conference, U.S. President George W. Bush announced that Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) will kick off negotiations on final outstanding issues on Dec. 12.
Abbas will insist that the main principle is to build an independent Palestinian statehood on the territories that Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war. The sources said he would assert that east Jerusalem must be the capital of the Palestinians.
The sources also revealed that Abbas is going to propose geographical changes, including land exchange with Israel, in order to make physical union between West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The President will repeat the demands to remove the West Bank barrier, dismantle settlements and resolving the issue of Palestinian refugees according to the United Nations resolution 194.
Moreover, the speech will touch on Islamic Hamas movement’s control of Gaza Strip where Abbas is expected to demand Hamas to “end its coup” before making any political contacts with his Fatah party.
Bush called for holding Annapolis to strengthen Abbas, after his forces lost the Gaza Strip in June fighting, through reviving peace process.
Meanwhile, the sources said that Abbas intends to reshuffle the Palestinian negotiation team, led by former premier Ahmed Qurei. Fatah central committee member, Nabil Shaath, and four academics will join the crew after two current members quit.