国际英语新闻：Abbas seeks peace on clear grounds, rejects state with provisional borders

RAMALLAH, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday stated that the peace talks with Israel must stand on clear grounds; however, a senior Palestinian official asserted that Abbas would reject establishing an independent Palestinian state with provisional borders.

The Palestinian state-run news agency "Wafa" quoted President Abbas as saying in an official statement that "if the stalled peace negotiations with Israel are to resume, it must stand on clear and specified grounds and based on the two sides' commitments."

Abbas accused Israel for thwarting the direct peace negotiations sponsored by the United States on September 2 and suspended on October 2, adding that "Israel's rejection to halt the building of Jewish settlement in the West Bank thwarted the negotiations in September."

On Wednesday, Abbas told reporters that if the Palestinians accept a state with temporary borders, the boundaries will turn to lasting frontiers in the future. The Palestinians are seeking the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.

Abbas meanwhile revealed that the Palestinians have seven options to use once the peace negotiations with Israel collapses. Among the options is to file to the United States, the United Nations and the Security Council and ask for the recognition of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Meanwhile, earlier on Saturday a senior official in Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) accused Israel of trying to pass laws and bills in the Israeli parliament (Knesset) to undermine all the international efforts to revive the stalled peace process in the Middle East.

Hanan Ashrawi, member of the PLO executive committee told Xinhua that the Israeli intention to pass a bill in the Knesset to consider Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish people "is rejected by the Palestinians and considered completely illegal."