RAMALLAH, December 5, 2011 (WAFA) - President Mahmoud Abbas Monday told assistant US Secretary of State, Jeffrey Feltman, that Israel must stop all settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, including in East Jerusalem, and accept the two-state solution.

Abbas, who received Feltman in his Ramallah office, insisted that these were Israeli obligations as came in phase one of the Road Map peace plan proposed by the Quartet in 2003. The Quartet includes the US, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.

Israeli government acceptance of its obligations will guarantee resumption of negotiations, said Abbas.

He said the Palestinian Authority is cooperating with the Quartet and that he has presented it with a comprehensive proposal on borders and security.

He said the Palestinians are ready to make proposals on all final status issues.

Abbas also informed Feltman that efforts to gain full membership at the UN for a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital will continue. He said the goal behind this Palestinian move is to strengthen the two-state solution on the 1967 borders and not to isolate Israel or to delegitimize it.

He also called on Israel to release prisoners, particularly those arrested before the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993.

M.S.