Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said that a peace agreement would include a clause stating that the conflict with Israel was over. Meeting with a delegation of the Israeli Meretz party, Abbas declared: “People say that after signing a peace agreement we will still demand Haifa, Acre and Safed. That is not true. Signing the agreement will signal the end of the conflict.”
Palestinian state would agree to be demilitarized, Abbas added. “We don’t need planes or missiles. All we need is a strong police force,” he was quoted by ‘Haaretz’ as saying.
“On the other hand, we want sovereignty and independence. I was criticized for saying that I don’t want a single Israeli soldier or settler in the Palestinian state. I meant any Israeli that is part of the occupation. I didn’t mean that I don’t want Jews or Israelis in the Palestinian state. We’ll welcome them as tourists or as people coming to do business. We just don’t want occupation forces,” the Palestinian leader said.