Ramallah, Sept 04: Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas blamed the Israeli government for the crisis in the peace process today but said he wanted to resume talks and end the cycle of violence. "I don't believe there's anybody in the world that doesn't share my opinion that it is the Israeli side who takes the responsibility for where we are today," he told deputies in a Parliament session.
Israel decided to resume its policy of targetted killings of Palestinian militants after being embarrassed by criticism from US President George W. Bush of a controversial security barrier being built to separate Israel from the West Bank, he added.
"This put the Israeli government in an embarrassing position and then they resumed assassinations in (the West Bank towns of) Nablus and Hebron and in effect destroyed the truce."
Israel froze contacts with Abbas' government in the wake of a massive suicide bomb in Jerusalem on August 19. Israel subsequently launched a series of deadly air raids on Hamas activists in the Gaza Strip.
But Abbas also held out an olive branch to the Israelis and said he wanted the political process to resume.
"Now I call on everybody to get out of the cycle of action and reaction," he added.
He wanted "a serious attempt to move life back to the political track and to move away for the assassinations and destruction." Bureau Report