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Palestinian leadership says Netanyahu speech obstacle to peace

Palestine to seek UN recognition if no progress is made by September

Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has dismissed a speech given by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the U.S. Congress. Abbas said Netanyahu’s address simply made peace harder to achieve. In the speech, Netanyahu said Israel was willing to make difficult compromises, but rejected an earlier call by US President Barack Obama for a peace deal based on pre-1967 borders. Abbas also said that if no progress is made towards peace by September, the Palestinian Authority would unilaterally seek recognition from the UN. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told the BBC that Israel’s terms for peace – which include an undivided Jerusalem, a demilitarized Palestine, and a refusal to scale down Israeli settlements in the West Bank – prove Israel cannot be a partner for peace.

BBC News

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