In Israel and the Occupied Territories, Palestinians marked the fifth anniversary of the death of former PLO leader and Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat Wednesday. Speaking in Ramallah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel’s continued occupation of the West Bank and expansion of settlements there prevent any hope of a two-state solution.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: “We are demanding the vision of a two-state solution. They are disfiguring it. They are putting obstacles before it. They are trying to remove this concept from our route. What do they want?”

Abbas recently announced he won’t seek another term when Palestinians hold national elections early next year.