(JTA) — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of violating “international laws related to the environment.”
“Our resources are being usurped, our trees are being uprooted, our agriculture is being destroyed,” Abbas said Monday at the United Nations climate conference near Paris.
According to the Times of Israel, Abbas said his government has made “great progress” in adopting climate change standards, but said that “continued Israeli occupation” infringed on its ability to do so.
In the same speech, Abbas said that he was open to peace negotiations with Israel.
“Our hand is still extended in peace to our neighbors,” he said.
Earlier at the conference, Abbas shook hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time in five years.
