Mahmoud Abbas: Hamas,an important movement

      Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated his refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Speaking to reporters in Saudi Arabia, Abbas said that "from a historical perspective there are two states: Israel and Palestine. In Israel, there are Jews and others living there. This we are willing to recognize, nothing else." The Palestinians recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, which Jerusalem demands, is meant to bolster Israel's position that rejects the return of Palestinian refugees to areas inside the Green Line - the border before the 1967 Six-Day War. Earlier on Saturday, after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, Abbas said that there will be meetings in Moscow and Paris to follow up on this week's Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland. Earlier, Abbas told reporters in Cairo that there would be meetings in Moscow and Paris to follow up on the peace summit in Annapolis. After meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, he said that a special Palestinian negotiating team, led by Abu Ala, will handle final-status negotiations with Israel, due to begin on the 12th of December. And, Abbas, added, he remains open to talks with Hamas, when it ends its coup in Gaza. Hamas and other allied militant groups have strongly opposed the resumption of peace talks with Israel, maintaining that Abbas lacks the political legitimacy to speak on behalf of all Palestinians. Hamas and Abbas-led Fatah have been locked in a bitter struggle since the former seized control over the Gaza Strip in June, leaving only the West Bank under Fatah control. Abbas on Saturday told reporters that he is open to holding talks with Hamas. "We have had talks with Hamas for the past four or five years, he said. We don't mind having talks because they are part of the Palestinian people and we will not give up this part of the people and we will not ignore them." "We consider it (Hamas) an important movement," he continued. "When it ends its coup, we will be ready to talk", Haaretz reported.(22,01)