MER - Abbas to Haaretz: Peace deal would have to include right of return

<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> With a real deal even less possible now than it was before, Abbas is repositioning himself to try to main some credibility among his own people and to try to stay in the Presidential office despite repeated indications he would not do so when his rigged term soon ends. <br><br>FROM THE ARTICLE:<br><br><br><br>Regarding the refugees, the Palestinian president said: "We understand that if all five million refugees return to their homes, the State of Israel will be destroyed." Nonetheless, he added, Israel must discuss both its responsibility for the refugee problem and a practical right of return.<br><br>From his remarks, it was apparent that he was trying to bring across the message that he is probably the best negotiations partner Israel can currently hope for. On one issue, however, he was adamant: the right of return. In any future peace deal, Israel will have to commit to absorbing Palestinian refugees, following negotiations over the numbers, he insisted.<br><br>"Palestinians who do not return to Israel will be able to return to Palestine," he continued. He also said a solution to the refugee problem would be based on the Arab peace initiative of 2002, which stated that the solution must be based on United Nations Resolution 194, but acceptable to Israel. ...<br><br>He concurred with Jordan's King Abdullah II, who told the French newspaper L'Express that he doubts Israel wants to resolve the conflict, as it lacks long-term vision. The outlines of an agreement are well known, he said, and Israel's internal political disputes are apparently the reason no progress has been made.<br><br>Under an Arab League proposal to reconcile Fatah and Hamas, Abbas said, all members of the Fatah-Hamas unity government would have to honor all agreements and commitments signed by the PLO, including the Arab initiative and the road map. He urged Israel to release all the Hamas parliamentarians it has jailed, saying: "We have made it clear to Israel that any peace agreement would involve the release of all Palestinian prisoners."<br><br>He also warned against the increasing strength of Al-Qaida in the territories and said the way to curb the organization's power is to end the blockade of Gaza, since suffering strengthens the extremists.<br><br>"Even today, I am sure I would sign the Oslo Accords," Abbas concluded. "I risked my life for peace, and if I have to pay for it with my life, it is still a marginal price." <b on></b> </body>