Palestinian president ready to engage with Israel

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday he was ready to engage with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a Middle East peace agreement if he proposes "anything promising or positive".   

Abbas, speaking to Reuters after Netanyahu announced a grand coalition that will strengthen the Israeli leader's hand, said Netanyahu had to realise that Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank were destroying hopes of peace and must cease.   

Abbas said it was still too early to comment directly on the new Israeli coalition, which saw Israel's centrist opposition Kadima party join Netanyahu's government.   

While in opposition, Kadima had blamed Netanyahu for the failure of Palestinian peace talks. Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz said resuming negotiations that have been stalled for 18 months was an "iron condition" of his decision to join the government.   

Abbas sent a letter last month to Netanyahu that was widely viewed as an ultimatum, setting out parameters for the stalled talks to resume. Netanyahu is expected to reply this week.   

Abbas said he had no intention of letting his people take up arms against the Israelis, but he would be ready to renew his unilateral push for international recognition of statehood at the United Nations if there was no breakthrough.   

"If there is anything promising or positive of course we will engage," he said, speaking in his headquarters in Ramallah, the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority (PA).   

He predicted the United States might also try to bring fresh ideas to the table. U.S.-brokered talks broke down in 2010 in a dispute over continued Jewish settlement-building in the occupied West Bank.   

"If nothing happens, at that time we will go to the United Nations to get non-member status," he said, referring to a possible vote in the U.N. General Assembly.   

Palestinian efforts to get full recognition via the U.N. Security Council failed in 2011 in the face of U.S. opposition. The General Assembly cannot grant full U.N. membership, but a Palestinian initiative there cannot be vetoed by Washington and a successful vote would offer a symbolic victory.   

Reuters