By Xinhua
Kuala Lumpur : Palestinians are ready to implement the road map for peace with Israel, said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, local media reported on Monday.
He said this readiness is based on the belief of Muslim countries that “they can normalize relations with Israel if, and it’s a big IF, Israel withdraws from Arab and Palestinian lands it has occupied since 1967.”
Abbas explained he was in Malaysia over the weekend to meet Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, since Malaysia is “a member of the conference in Washington” and head of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference).
The United States is brokering a peace conference between Palestine and Israel within the next 2 months. Abbas added that “we are facing a very tight situation, especially in the political field, and we want to have a unified position.”
“We are seeking the help of other countries participating in the conference,” The Star quoted Abbas as saying.
The conference will also be attended by 12 Arab countries, G8 countries, Permanent five members of the UN Security Council, as well as Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey and Norway, while others wishing to participate, like Brazil, India and South Africa, may be invited.
Palestinians stood by six conditions: the status of Jerusalem, return of Palestinian refugees, Israel observing pre-1967 borders, water, security and order, Abbas said.
Last week Israel reportedly rejected such definite terms in favor of a general agreement, leading Abbas to declare on Wednesday that it was obstructing the peace conference.
“East Jerusalem is part of the Palestinian territories but was occupied since 1967, and it should be returned to the Palestinian state,” Abbas said, adding that the Palestinian people would not accept anything short of this.
“Most of the people there are Palestinians. All of them, whether Muslim or Christian, are working against the occupation.
“Now we talk in-depth on all the issues, between Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams,” Abbas said, adding that both sides would work on the details after the conference for about 6 months before concluding a treaty.
Referring to obstacles to the peace conference, the Palestinian president said “there should be obstacles, if there were no obstacles this matter would have been solved quickly, but the dispute has taken one century.”