Abbas calls on Israel to resume negotiations immediately

Agencies | Jerusalem

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's call for a two-state solution was a "positive development" but said the proof would be an immediate return to negotiations.

"The true test of the credibility and seriousness of this stance is for the Israeli government to return to the negotiation table immediately," he told the UN General Assembly, in a speech that largely lambasted Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Efforts to reach a two-state deal, which involves an Israeli and Palestinian state existing side by side, have long been stalled. Lapid's mention of a two-state formula was the first by an Israeli leader on the United Nations stage in years and echoed US President Joe Biden's support in Israel in August for the long-dormant proposal.

Lapid spoke less than six weeks before a Nov. 1 election that could return to power the right-wing former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longstanding opponent of the two-state solution.