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Abbas Rejects Palestinian State Within Temporary Borders


Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is rejecting an idea published by Israel media that would create a Palestinian state within temporary borders.

In a speech to his Fatah party in Ramallah on Saturday, Mr. Abbas said the idea was being presented as a way to move the Middle East peace process forward.

He added that Palestinians would not accept such a deal and restated his call for full Palestinian statehood.

On Friday, Mr. Abbas met with U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell who traveled to the region in an effort to kick-start indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Mitchell also met on Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said Israel is "serious" about restarting negotiations.

The U.S. envoy is scheduled to meet with Mr. Netanyahu again on Sunday. Mitchell said Friday the United States hopes to see a development to advance the peace process relatively soon.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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