RAMALLAH, August 13, 2011 (WAFA) –President Mahmoud Abbas told Fatah advisory board on Friday that his decision to seek UN recognition in September was a result of Israeli intransigence and refusal of hold serious negotiations that would lead to ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He reiterated the Palestinian commitment to peace, saying that the only option is to establish a Palestinian state through negotiations, which will be achieved by ending settlement activities that contradict peace.

He said that seeking UN recognition does not oppose the peace process and does not aim to isolate Israel. Rather, it will reinforce the two-state solution.

He affirmed that the Palestinian reconciliation is a priority to the Palestinian Authority through the formation of a government of technocrats, which aims to reconstruct the Gaza Strip and prepare for the presidential and legislative elections.

Ahmed Qurei, head of the Jerusalem affairs department in the PLO, was elected as secretary of the Fatah advisory board.

M.H./M.A.