RAMALLAH
Palestinian Authority (PA)President Mahmoud Abbas vowed Thursday that he would never abandon longstanding Palestinian national principles.
Addressing thousands of supporters following his return from the United States, Abbas vowed to "maintain our pledge [not to concede historical Palestinian demands."
On Tuesday, Abbas returned from Washington, where he had held talks with U.S. President Barack Obama on U.S.-sponsored peace talks between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators.
The visit had raised concerns that the PA would bow to American pressure to recognize Israel's "Jewish nature" and allow an Israeli military presence to remainin the Jordan Valley.
"The Palestinian leadership has rejected all American proposals that would deprive the Palestinians of their rights," Fatah leader Gamal Nazzal told Anadolu Agency.
"We will neither recognize Israel's Jewishness nor compromise on our rights," he added.
Direct US-brokered Israel-Palestine peace talks resumed in Washington last summer after a nearly three-year hiatus.
During a visit to the region in January, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry proposed a "framework" for an eventual peace deal that would address so-called "final-status issues," including borders, security, Palestinian refugees and Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem).
Abbas, for his part, has repeatedly said the PA would not compromise longstanding Palestinian principles – including Al-Quds, the right of refugees to return to historical Palestine, and the refusal to acknowledge Israel as a "Jewish state" – in the ongoing peace talks.
A recent survey found that some nine out of ten Palestinians opposed Kerry's proposed "framework" agreement.
According to the poll, which was carried out by Palestinian survey research center RIWI, 89 percent of Palestinians don't support the notion of making concessions in return for securing a finalpeace deal.
By Qais Abu Samra
englishnews@aa.com.tr
