The Palestinian President, Mahud Abbas, made clear in an interview with British Newspapers his eagerness to move to negotiations on a lasting settlement with Israel.

He said the London meeting must lead to the holding of the international conference - called for in the road map to re-launch final negotiations on the status of Palestine - and a credible peace process.

He also said he wanted the conference to send a clear signal of the international support for what the Palestinians have already achieved in terms of fulfillment of their obligations towards the roadmap peace plan. He added that he saw the meeting as a good opportunity which neither Palestinians nor Israelis should allow to slip away.

The conference is being hosted by British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and attended by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, UN secretary general Kofi Annan, and foreign ministers from more than 20 countries.

In the wake of some pessimism following last Friday's suicide bombing in Tel Aviv , Abbas insisted that such attacks wouldn't be tolerated. However he also warned that an end to violence is not feasible when Palestinians are being killed by the Israeli army on a daily basis, saying that stopping violence is a mutual Israeli-Palestinian commitment.

British officials said the Palestinians are expected to set out their blueprint for beefing up political, economic and security institutions. A new reform-minded Palestinian cabinet was put in place last week, which the international community regards as a good beginning to Palestinian reform.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair originally wanted a fully-fledged peace conference, but this was scaled back after Israel and the US raised objections. They feared the convening of a full peace conference would focus on final status issues such as Jerusalem.

Tony Blair made it clear the meeting will be held against the backdrop of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and is intended to issue practical support to help build Palestinian infrastructure.

(CRI.com March 1, 2005)