RAMALLAH, January 28, 2012 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday briefed visiting Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore and Japanese Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ryuji Yamane on the latest development in the Middle East peace process.

Abbas, in a separate meeting with Gilmore at his headquarters, briefed the Irish minister on the exploratory talks held in the Jordanian capital Amman during January.

He said Israeli intransigence and its refusal to present clear proposals on the issues of borders and security as requested by the Quartet created a setback to the peace talks.

He said the Palestinian side is committed to serious and real peace process that would lead to an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 borders.

Gilmore visited the Gaza Strip before meeting with Abbas and called for lifting the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza since 2006. He also participated in a protest at Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem against Israeli settlers’ takeover of Palestinian homes.

In his second meeting with Yamane, Abbas also briefed the Japanese official on the latest developments in the peace talks, particularly the setbacks facing the exploratory talks as a result of Israeli rejection of the two-state solution and an end to settlements.

Abbas told the Japanese official that he was ready to resume negotiations with Israel once it recognizes the 1967 borders of the Palestinian state and stops all settlement activities in the Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

Abbas received an invitation to visit Japan in the nearest time possible.

M.S.