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Abbas: We reject violence and extremism

Xinhua, March 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stresses Thursday his rejection to "violence and extremism," hinting to the ongoing violence between Palestinians and Israel since last October.

Abbas told reporters after meeting with the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in Ramallah that "our hands are extended for peace based on justice and rights, and we are against violence and extremism."

"The continuity of the current situation is unbearable, and achieving peace, security and neighborliness between us and Israel requires decisive decisions by the Israeli government to freeze settlement activity immediately and halt aggressive actions of settlers," said Abbas during the press conference.

A recent wave of violence between Palestinians and Israel broke out last October, killing over 190 Palestinians and 34 Israelis, according to official statistics.

The peace talks between Israel and Palestine have been stalled since April 2014. The U.S.-sponsored talk that lasted for nine months achieved no tangible results.

The Palestinian president reiterated welcoming the French ideas to hold an international peace conference and forming an international support group and an effective multilateral mechanism to achieve the two-state solution, based on the international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Abbas noted that an Arab League ministerial committee is currently working on a draft resolution over Jewish settlements, to be submitted at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). He applauded the European Union's decision over Israeli settlement activity and the labeling of settlement products.

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis called for "rebuilding mutual trust between both sides," stressing that a settlement could only be reached through negotiations.

The Romanian president arrived in Israel on Monday and met with Israeli president and prime minister. Endit