Abbas tells Biden he 'extends hand' for peace with Israel

By Qais Abu Samra

BETHLEHEM CITY, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that he is ready to extend his hand to Israel to restart peace negotiations.

"The opportunity for a two-state solution on the 1967 borders may only be available today, we don't know what will happen in the future," Abbas said in a press conference alongside US President Joe Biden in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

"I extend my hand to the leaders of Israel to make peace," he added.

Abbas called for ending the decades-long Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and allowing Palestinians to obtain their "legitimate rights" based on international resolutions.

The Palestinian leader said Israel can be accepted to live in peace with its neighbors in the region with the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Abbas also called for reopening the US Consulate in East Jerusalem and removing the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from the US terrorist list.

"We are not terrorists," he stressed.

The Palestinian president also called for bringing the killers of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to accountability.

Abu Akleh, 51, a Palestinian-American journalist working for the Doha-based Al Jazeera network, was shot dead May 11 while covering an Israeli military raid near the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

While Palestinian officials and Al Jazeera accused Israel of killing the reporter, Tel Aviv denied any responsibility.

Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday in his first official trip to the Middle East region, where he pledged US protection to Israel. He is scheduled to leave for Saudi Arabia later Friday.

Writing by Ahmed Asmar