Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas met with officials of his Fatah faction last Wednesday.

During the meeting, Abbas once again expressed his support for the French political initiative, which seeks to set up a support group of the permanent Security Council members, some Arab and European states and international organizations.

“There is a need to convene an international peace conference in order to extract the current deadlock in the peace process, and that the Palestinians intend to appeal to the Security Council to get resolutions which will cease all settlement in the Palestinian territories,” said Abbas.

Abbas dubbed the current intifada as a “popular peaceful uprising” initiated as a proportional response to the “occupation”, Israel’s non-commitment to implement the agreements, damage to the holy places of Islam and Christianity, arrests, house demolitions, killing and expulsion of Palestinians, and the siege on Gaza.

According to Abbas, the Palestinians will not fulfill the agreements as long as Israel does not implement them, and the PA is awaiting Israel’s response to its demands and will determine their next steps accordingly . Moreover, Abbas expressed his strong opposition to recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.