Abbas: Peace deal was close under Olmert

[oberliner]

Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were close to reaching a peace deal in the last round of formal negotiations, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday.

Abbas claimed that the two sides were nearing a breakthrough in talks that were broken off last year when Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip. The present Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said, is simply uninterested he peace, he said.

"We sat and negotiated with the Israelis over drawing borders and we negotiated these borders with Olmert and Livni," Abbas was quoted as saying.

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