RAMALLAH, Palestine
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that Palestinians would not abandon their longstanding demand of establishing an independent state on all Palestinian land occupied by Israel in 1967 with Al-Quds (East Jerusalem) as its capital.
"We will continue to negotiate with the Israelis for nine months, according to schedule," Abbas said in Ramallah at a joint press conference with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"We hope negotiations will lead to an agreement that will open the door to the establishment of two states within the context of international legitimacy and the [2002 Saudi-backed] Arab peace initiative," Abbas added.
Palestinians, he asserted, wanted to make Al-Quds an "open city" for the adherents of all faiths.
Abbas reiterated his rejection of any Israeli presence inside the future Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, Harper, who arrived in the Palestinian territories from Israel on Monday, said his country supported Washington's ongoing mediation efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.
Negotiations, he said, represented the only means of realizing an independent Palestinian state.
Harper added that Canada would continue to offer the Palestinians what he described as financial and security aid.
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