JERUSALEM, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas over the weekend gave an interview to Israeli TV Channel 2, in which he touched on a number of issues that are central to Israeli-Palestinian relations, including the 1967 lines, the Palestinian refugees' right to return, and the Palestinian uprising.
Abbas said that a future Palestinian state should be made up of the West Bank, Gaza and the eastern part of Jerusalem and the borders should be draw along the 1967 lines, a reference to the cease-fire lines that existed prior to the 1967 war when Israel captured the areas Abbas mentioned.
He also stated that as long as he is in power there would not be another Palestinian uprising or intifada.
Meanwhile, in a statement drawing criticism from Hamas among others, Abbas hinted that he had no right to return to his birth town, Safed in northern Israel.
"Palestine now for me is the '67 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. This is now and forever ... This is Palestine for me. I am (a) refugee, but I am living in Ramallah," he said, adding that it is his right to visit his birthplace, "but not to live there."
Abbas' surprising remarks need to be digested against the backdrop of the Jan. 22 Israeli elections, the upcoming vote at the United Nations on the Palestinian bid for a non-member state status in the world body, and the Tuesday U.S. presidential elections, analysts here say.
"Abbas' very intention was to send a message to the Israelis and assuring them he is a moderate guy and that the Israelis shouldn't worry about him," Prof. Bassem Zbeidi, of Israel's Birzeit University, told Xinhua Monday.
Abbas hopes "that it will impact the results of the Israeli elections, so that instead of choosing Lieberman they will choose more moderate Israeli politicians," Zbeidi said, referring to Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
According to Prof. Benny Miller, of the University of Haifa, it makes sense that Abbas is interested in the elections.
"By showing a more moderate position, obviously he can gain support internality in Israel and maybe get (former prime minister) Ehud Olmert or (former foreign minister) Tzipi Livni enter into the elections cycle," Miller said.
Olmert and Livni, who both at one time led the centrist Kadima Party, are currently on the sidelines of the elections campaign but might return to either lead Kadima or by establishing a new party.
In a cool response to Abbas' statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated during Sunday's cabinet meeting that he is ready to restart the peace negotiations with the Palestinians soon without any preconditions.
Commenting on Abbas' remarks, Olmert slammed Netanyahu's policies toward the Palestinians as "reckless," saying his conduct is working against Israel's interests and in favor of the Hamas movement that is ruling the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli-Palestinian negotiations broke down in October 2010 after the Netanyahu government refused to renew a freeze on settlement construction.
During the so-called Annapolis talks in 2007, Olmert offered Abbas a peace deal with borders almost identical to those Abbas outlined in the interview, yet the parties failed to reach an agreement. So it is understandable that Abbas would rather deal with Olmert than with Netanyahu, analysts argue.
Miller said that Abbas' interview "definitely will raise the profile of the (Palestinian) issue compared to Iran and especially to the economic issue which seems to be dominating the agenda at the moment."
Besides the Israeli elections, analysts say, Abbas was also casting an eye on the U.S. presidential vote, due to take place Tuesday.
According to Miller, if U.S. President Barack Obama is re- elected, then it is very likely that Obama will try to push for the resumption of negotiations, as he did when he resumed office and asked Israel to implemented the settlement freeze in 2009.
So Abbas will be at an advantage by portraying himself as someone who Israel can talk to and someone who is interested in peace, both for the Israeli and international arena, Miller said.
In the interview, Abbas also tried to convince Israel that his bid to upgrade the status of the representative of the Palestinian people to the United Nations, from its current observer status to that of a non-member state is not a threat to Israel.
This would be the second time that Abbas try to seek UN recognition, and as was that case last year Israel is strongly against the bid.
Lieberman has warned that should Abbas go ahead with the bid, the Israeli reply will be "tough."
Israel's main reason for opposing the bid stems from the fact that if it goes through, the Palestinians would be able to seek membership in the International Court of Justice and via that court issue lawsuits against Israeli politician and officers.
Zbeidi argued that "Abbas wanted to say that his United Nations choice isn't against Israel but it's really to make peace with Israel and the Israelis have no reason to fear him."
"He wants to assure the Israelis that he is a peace maker, he is a reliable partner," Zbeidi said.
Front Page Features