Monday, March 7 2005 16:11 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New York: Palestinians decided on democracy not because American President George Bush pushed them but because they wanted it, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said today (March 7, 2005).

"I don't think that we made democracy because President Bush pushed us. We decided that we should have a democratic process and we did it, without any pressure," he told 'Time' magazine in an interview being published in the upcoming issue of the magazine.

Asked about the letter that President Bush wrote to Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, saying that in a 'final' deal, there will be adjustments to the 1967 borders and the status of Jerusalem, Abbas asserted that President Bush did not have "the right to prejudice final status issues".

"These issues should be discussed in the final stages, not now. He can't make commitments on behalf of the Palestinian people. It is our right to say yes or no," he stressed.

Abbas said that any unpopular choice in a final-status agreement will go to a referendum. "I promise any compromise will go to a referendum. People will accept it or not".

Replying to a question, Abbas said Hamas should be in Parliament. "They will share the responsibility. Israel has more than 33 political parties from right to left and in between," he said.

The US and Israel consider Hamas a 'terrorist' group.

Abbas said both Hamas and Islamic Jihad have agreed not to attack Israel without any pressure. "It's a democracy. We have to deal with them accordingly", he said.