A conciliatory overture from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas got a split reception in Israel on Saturday.
Israel President Shimon Peres said the remarks proved Abbas was a "partner for peace." But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office dismissed the remarks as contradictory to Abbas' actions, dpa reported.
In an interview with Israel's Channel 2, Abbas emphasized his demands for a Palestinian state and at the same time underlined the right to exist for the Jewish state. He also indicated a willingness to give up the right to return for refugees, a key issue in the Mideast conflict, and said he was committed to preventing another violent uprising.
"Palestine for me is the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital, this is Palestine, I am a refugee, I live in Ramallah, the West Bank and Gaza is Palestine, everything else is Israel," Abbas was quoted as saying by Haaretz newspaper.
Peres said in a statement that Abbas had rejected terrorism and "pledged that under his leadership, there will not be a third intifada."
"He understands that the solution to the refugee problem will not be on Israeli territory. These are statements of great importance," Peres said.
On Twitter, Netanyahu's spokesman Ofir Gendelman charged that Abbas had refused for years to renew negotiations with Israel with no preconditions, which has been a long-standing offer from Netanyahu.
Abbas was also criticized by the radical Islamist group Hamas, which governs in the Gaza Strip and said that Abbas had no right to give up on Palestine.