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I’m prepared to work with Netanyahu: Abbas

Jerusalem: Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has said he is willing to work with hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a day after the US special envoy concluded his visit to the Middle East to kickstart "proximity" talks between the two sides. "We stand by agreements," Abbas told Israel’s Channel 2 regarding threats from the Palestinian side to unilaterally declare statehood. PA Prime Minister Sallam Fayyad had earlier this month threatened to unilaterally declare Palestinian statehood by August 2011 if peace talks do not progress. Extending his hand in peace to the Israeli people, the Palestinian President also asserted that he was prepared to work with Netanyahu and is committed to returning to the negotiating table next month. Abbas said he hopes to get Arab League approval for indirect talks on May 1. He also emphasised that it was his duty to work with Netanyahu who was "chosen by the Israeli people and elected by the Knesset (Israeli parliament). The Israeli premier responded by saying that he "commends any willingness to resume peace talks". US special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, was in the region for his three-day visit over the weekend in a push to restart indirect talks between the two sides, which are scheduled to resume by the middle of the next month. Abbas, however, reiterated the Palestinian demand to freeze Israeli constructions in East Jerusalem saying that a building freeze has always been a precondition for talks with Israel. Despite Netanyahu’s rhetoric to continue constructions in east Jerusalem, reports yesterday said that a de facto freeze on new Jewish construction in the predominantly Arab part of the city is already in place. In a surprising move, the PA President also accepted that the Palestinians would not be able to force the right of return for Palestinian refugees on Israelis within the context of a peace agreement, but that he seeks a "just solution".

                                                                                                               
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