On Friday night, Abbas said that he left the Safed in 1948 and he would not like to go back again and live there but he can surely visit that place as a tourist. For him, Palestine is a state, which existed before 1967. He has also claimed that when he will be in power he will not allow the third intifada in Palestine. He has also invited the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu to take a step further and start negotiations for the establishment of Palestinian state along with West Bank including Gaza.
According to him, the capital of that Palestinian state would be Eastern Jerusalem. He further added that, Palestine is a state that existed before 1967 along with an Eastern side of Jerusalem as a capital. He said he is a refugee because he lives in Ramallah and except the Gaza and West Bank, all other areas are under the authority of Israel. Abbas gave clarification for his interview in a newspaper on Saturday that he has only shared his own ideas and thoughts on the right to return to Palestine and he was not talking about the authority of Palestine.
When cabinet meeting was held, Netanyahu also defended Abbas’s interview in regard to Abbas taking his words back. He said that there is a need to acknowledge the importance of direct negotiation. When the direct negotiation will take place, then in-depth truth will come out. He said that, if Abu Mezan is willing and if he seriously wants to solve the issue at hand then he will surely be ready to negotiate with him immediately because there is only seven minutes distance between Ramallah and Jerusalem. President of Israel has also given his words of appreciation for Abbas and considered his interview a brave acknowledgement and declaration for the public. He said that the words of Abbas have shown that he is a real partner of Israel and he wants to establish peace in both the states. Abu Mezan is against terrorism and he has claimed that he will put his best efforts to avoid the third intifada during his leadership. He believes that the Israel territory and characters are not the solution of Palestinian issue of refugee. He is all set to negotiate with Israel.
