In a speech in Ramallah Thursday, Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas said that Israelis needed to realize that peace was “more important than settlements, and more important than narrow interests like the coalition and Lieberman.” Abbas, who was speaking at the annual memorial rally for Yasser Arafat, said that “Israeli and Palestinian children must taste the flavor of coexistence, stability, and mutual respect, before we lose the opportunity.”

He added that the PA continued to oppose terming Israel a Jewish state, and that no deal could be signed until all terrorists were released from Israeli prisons.