Palestinians signed on an appeal to end the intifada

Presidential election frontrunner &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/diplomatic/2003/02/21/43571.html ' target=_blank>Mahmud Abbas urged Palestinians to abandon the armed intifada on Sunday, saying that independence could only be achieved through peaceful means.

Abbas said that the Palestinians could not hope to secure a military victory over the Israelis and that the use of weapons would only be counter-productive to the national cause.

"I believe that it is clear that a military solution is impossible," the Palestine Liberation Organisation (&to=http:// english.pravda.ru/hotspots/2001/08/27/13501.html ' target=_blank>PLO) chairman told a gathering of business leaders in the West Bank town of Ramallah, reports News24.