Abbas stresses peace commitment in Ramallah

Xinhua, August 19, 2015

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met on Tuesday with Israeli opposition head Isaac Herzog in the West Bank, stressing commitment to the peace process, a senior Palestinian official said.

Mohamed el-Madani, a member in Abbas Fatah Party and in charge of contacting the Israeli community, told Xinhua that the meeting was held upon Herzog's personal request.

"The meeting didn't include anything new related to the track of the frozen Israeli-Palestinian peace process," said el-Madani, adding that the Palestinians are still committed to peace.

The U.S.-meditated peace talks between Israel and Palestinian have been stalled since April 2014.

Meanwhile, President Abbas said the Palestinians' commitment to the peace process is based on the implementation of the international resolutions, the Palestinian official new agency WAFA reported.

Abbas also said the Palestinians are looking forward to seeing a peace process that leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

"It is necessary for each party to implement the commitments and resume serious negotiations based on ending the occupation and achieving peace in the region," Abbas said.

Tension in the West Bank has been growing since a July 31 Jewish arson attack on a Palestinian home that killed a father and his toddler and seriously wounded the mother and a four-year-old son.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it is preparing a file to be taken to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to prosecute Israel for execution of Palestinians.