Abbas expects U.S. pressure on Israel to resume peace talks

RAMALLAH, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expects that the United States would exercise pressure on Israel to accept resuming peace talks on the basis of a two-state solution, a Palestinian official said Thursday.

Abbas wants Washington to put "serious" pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to endorse the two-state solution based on the pre-1967 border lines, with the slight exchange of land, the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Abbas has briefed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during the latter's visit to the region on proposals to revive the peace talks, which have suspended since 2010, said the official.

The Arab League's recent stance, namely accepting an equal, limited and agreeable land swap between Israel and the Palestinians, was a result of the understandings reached between Abbas and Kerry during their recent meetings in the West Bank city of Ramallah, he added.

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians came to a halt in 2010 over Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.

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