The Prime Minister's Office issued the following statement, Sunday evening, in response to the statement by Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority that he would only be ready to return to negotiations with Israel if Israel gave up completely on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
"Abu Mazen'sspeechisa turning away frompeace.Instead of entering negotiations to bring the [Arab-Israeli]conflict to its conclusion, Abu Mazenprefersto jointhe Hamas terrorist group,the sameHamas thatembracesIran."