Israel continues to undermine two-state solution: Abbas

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that Israeli policies continue to undermine a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, local media reported.

Abbas met with US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield in the West Bank after her two-day visit to Israel.

According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, he said during the meeting that the Israeli practices of establishing illegal settlements, killing, confiscation of land, house demolitions and attempting to expel Palestinians from their homes in neighborhoods of Jerusalem all lead to dangerously undermining the two-state solution for which the US administration has announced its full support.

“We do not accept in any way the classification of six Palestinian civil society organizations as terrorist by the occupation authorities, and we do not accept the continued abuse of prisoners and the holding of the bodies of martyrs,” he said.

“In the event that the Israeli occupation authorities insist on denial of the signed agreements and moving away from the path of peace, we have options, and we will take measures that preserve the rights of our people and their national interests,” Abbas added.

“Today I met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. We discussed rebuilding the U.S.-Palestinian relationship, ensuring UNRWA lives up to its commitments, the importance of respecting human rights, and our shared commitment to a two-state solution,” Thomas-Greenfield said on Twitter.