Abbas discusses Israeli peace with EU leaders

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a press conference with EU Foreign Affairs Representative Federica Mogherini on Monday, March 27. He said he was ready for EU and U.S. assistance in negotiating future peace agreements with Israel.

Abbas also met with European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and European Parliament President Antonio Tajani.

Abbas and Mogherini will meet again later this week at an Arab League Summit.

One main sticking point in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is the disposition of the West Bank, which Israel seized in the Six-Day War. Israel keeps building settlements there, but Palestinians consider it land they need for a future Palestinian state.

The contested area also contains East Jerusalem, which neither side seems willing to relinquish or share.

Approximately 550,000 Israeli settlers live in the disputed territories amid 2.6 million Palestinians.