RAMALLAH, December 29, 2016 (WAFA) – Reacting to the speech delivered on Wednesday by US Secretary John Kerry on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, President Mahmoud Abbas said he followed with great interest Secretary Kerry‘s speech and reiterated his commitment to a just and lasting peace as a strategic option, according to Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

President Abbas, according to a statement read by Erekat, said: "The minute the Israeli government agrees to cease all settlement activities, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, and agree to implement the signed agreements on the basis of mutual reciprocity, the Palestinian leadership stands ready to resume permanent status negotiations on the basis of international law and relevant international resolutions, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, under a specified timeframe.”

The statement went on to say: “President Abbas is fully convinced that a just, comprehensive and lasting peace can be reached in all core issues on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative with specified terms of reference, which can guarantee to fully end the Israeli occupation and lead to the establishment of an independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 border, living in peace and security, side by side with the State of Israel, as well as resolving all core issues, including refugees and prisoners on the basis of the relevant international legality resolutions.”

President Abbas, concluded the statement, “will continue to cooperate closely with France, which plans to convene next month an international peace conference, in order to guarantee the launching of a credible peace process based on international law, international legality and within a specified timeframe and a new international follow up mechanism.”

M.K.