Visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas here Tuesday urged Israel to end its occupation of Arab lands, saying this is the way that Israel will live in peace.
Abbas made the call at a joint press conference with Israeli President Shimon Peres and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul.
"If there is peace between Israel and the Palestinians and the occupation of Arab lands ends, Israel will also live in a sea of peace, security and stability in the Middle East," Abbas told the reporters.
"There will no longer be wars or enmity and all the peoples in the region will live in security and stability" if the peace realized, he added.
Meanwhile, he hoped that a U.S.-sponsored international conference on Mideast peace due to be held late this month in the U.S. city Annapolis would be a success.
Abbas promised that his Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was "working with our full force" to ensure that the upcoming summit conference aimed at relaunching peace negotiations between Israel and the PNA and other Arabs "is a success".
Abbas' remarks came just after he signed an agreement with Peres and Gul to set up joint industrial zones in the West Bank.
Peres also spoke at the press conference, hailing that the Tuesday agreement "is a win-win situation," which would strengthen both sides' hands before the Annapolis meeting.
"This meeting supports Annapolis and it will contribute to the peace process," he stressed.
Later in the day, Abbas and Peres are expected to address Turkey's parliament separately, it was reported.
Source: Xinhua
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