Abbas Claims to Israeli Academics He Backs Demilitarized Palestinian State

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaks during a meeting with the Palestinian Central
AP/Majdi Mohammed

The Times of Israel reports: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday said he believed a future Palestinian state should be demilitarized, offering rare backing for a key Israeli demand in any peace deal.

Abbas told a group of visiting Israeli academics that he preferred devoting funds to education and institutions than to an army, the Kan public broadcaster reported.

“I support a state along the 1967 borders without an army. I want unarmed police forces with batons, not guns,” Abbas said in Ramallah, according to the radio report. “Instead of warplanes and tanks, I prefer to build schools and hospitals and allocate funds and resources to social institutions.”

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