Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Wednesday talks with Israel are still on the table, despite moves against the Jewish state at the UN and numerous failed rounds of negotiations.<\/p>\n
Abbas was addressing the Palestinian leadership at the opening of a two-day conference in the West Bank to discuss the future of the Palestinian Authority (PA), whose existence is under threat after Israel cut off a key source of funds.<\/p>\n
“We ask all countries of the world to recognise the state of Palestine,” he said.<\/p>\n
….<\/p>\n
In Jerusalem, thousands of Israeli women gathered outside parliament to call for peace with the Palestinians, at a rally organised by Women Wage Peace, a group formed after the Gaza war.<\/p>\n
“Two weeks ahead of the elections, we’ve heard no word on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. No candidates have given their verdict on the issue,” Irit Keinan said in a speech.<\/p>\n
“We’ve suffered through enough wars,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Among us are young women, mothers and grandmothers, people who will raise our children — the next generation of soldiers who will be forced to go to war. It’s enough!”<\/p>\n