Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas (C) gives a speech to members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)’s Central Council during a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah on April 26, 2014. Palestinians will never recognise Israel as the “Jewish state,” Abbas said, as his leadership convened to chart a course of action after Israel halted peace talks. “In 1993 we recognised Israel,” Abbas told members of the PLO, adding that the Palestinians should not be forced to go a step further and recognise Israel’s religious identity. AFP PHOTO / ABBAS MOMANI