Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday said Palestine is willing to return to peace negotiations with Israel as soon as the latter retracts its annexation plan of parts of the West Bank.
In a phone call with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Abbas expressed appreciation for Norway’s principled support of the two-state solution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and its rejection of any unilateral steps that disregard international law, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Abbas said that Palestine “is ready to engage in serious negotiations with the Israeli government the moment it refrains from its unilateral annexation plan, to be sponsored by the Quartet and any other countries of the world.”
The Palestinian leader briefed Solberg on the latest developments in Palestine, and the consequences of the Israeli plan to annex portions of the occupied West Bank.
He thanked Norway for its generous support and economic aid provided to the Palestinian national institutions since 1993, the WAFA reported.
For her part, Solberg expressed Norway’s support to achieving peace on the basis of the two-state solution, and its commitment to implement the international resolutions.
She reaffirmed that her country will continue to play its role in sponsoring the annual donor conference to help the Palestinian people build their institutions and economy.
