By Xinhua,
Ramallah : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will inform U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama of the negative consequences of Israeli settlement activities in the WestBank during the Democrat’s upcoming visit here, Abbas’ aide said Tuesday.
When Obama meets Abbas in the West Bank, the latter will focus on “explaining the danger of the settlement activities and the West Bank wall and pointing out that the international community did not deal with this issue with responsibility,” said Nemer Hammad, Abbas’ media adviser.
Obama will also be told “the continuation of the Israeli settlement on the Palestinian land kills the peace process in the future, if not now.”
Abbas will show Obama a map of the barriers Israel builds in the West Bank, according to Hammad.
The Israelis and Palestinians resumed peace talks during a U.S.-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland in November, with an aim to clinch a peace agreement before the end of this year.
So far, no progress has been made in the negotiations which pave the way for a Palestinian statehood alongside Israel, largely owing to the continuation of Israeli settlements on the lands considered part of the future Palestinian statehood.
Obama, who is now on a whirlwind Mideast tour, will arrive in Israel late Tuesday and meet Israeli leaders. On Tuesday, he is scheduled to travel to the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet Abbas and Palestinian officials.
Following his stop in Afghanistan, the presidential hopeful is now in Iraq as part of his first overseas tour since securing the democratic nomination.