RAMALLAH, West Bank, — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said “a thousand no’s” to the Mideast peace plan announced on Tuesday by President Donald Trump, which strongly favors Israel.The Palestinians remain committed to ending the Israeli occupation and establishing a state with its capital in east Jerusalem, Abbas said at a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the Western-backed Palestinian Authority is headquartered.

“When someone arrives to talk peace, prepare for war,” an Israeli told me this week.Palestinians and Israelis know from decades of history that past peace initiatives are strewn with turbulence, division and bloodshed.But the Oslo Accords of the 1990s also left a structure in place, however fragile, that was meant to become the basis for a permanent peace – the so-called “two-state solution”.It calls for an independent Palestinian state made up of the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital, alongside a secure state of Israel along the territorial lines shown on the map before the 1967 Middle East war.

BAKU, – “526 observers were registered in Goygol-Dashkesan election constituency #101”, Chairman of the Constituency Election Commission Abbas Zalov told.He noted that 74 of the registered observers are independent and the rest are the members of eight political parties. The constituency with 120 polling stations includes 42,874 voters. 43 of them will exercise their right to vote for the first time. There 4 voters who are over 100 years old.

BAKU — “Elections always involve changes and renewal all over the world. In this regard, I expect positive results from the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan”, Chairman of Swedish Azerbaijanis Congress Emil Mirzeyev told.Speaking about the comprehensive reforms conducted in all spheres of life in Azerbaijan, Mirzeyev said that the initiative for parliament’s renewal will make a significant contribution to the steps taken in this direction.  

BAKU, JAN 28 – Being Jews from Azerbaijan, the processes taking place in Azerbaijan are important for us as well”, head of the “Coordination Center for the Heritage of Mountain Jews of Azerbaijan” and “Azerbaijan House in Israel” Shirin Nehamiya Mikhaeli told.“Azerbaijan is a country that is constantly growing and developing. We hope that after the parliamentary elections, Azerbaijan would further strengthen”, said Shirin Nehamiya Mikhaeli. He added that it was important to further strengthen Azerbaijan’s position and to continue mutually beneficial cooperation with all partner and friendly states, including Israel.

BAKU, JAN 27 – “The preparation for the parliamentary elections continues in accordance with state legislation. So far, no violations have been reported. The society shows great interest in the elections”, political analyst Fikrat Sadikhov told.Hailing the progress in the pre-election campaign, he said: “Representatives of both independent persons and members of various political parties have nominated their candidacy. All conditions for holding democratic elections have been created. Local and foreign observers who wish to monitor the election process are registered. The observation missions of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the CIS Parliamentary Assembly has already begun their work.”