Taking the podium of the United Nations General Assembly on
Thursday, President Mahmoud Abbas declared that “Jerusalem is not
for sale and the Palestinian people’s rights are not up for
bargain.”
President Abbas underscored his commitment to peace and the
two-state solution, as well as the path of negotiation to achieve
them, reiterating that peace in the Middle East cannot be
realized without an independent Palestinian state, with East
Jerusalem as its capital.
“We have always fully and positively engaged with the various
initiatives of the international community aimed at achieving a
peaceful solution between us and the Israelis, including the Arab
Peace Initiative,” he told world leaders gathered for the
Assembly’s annual debate, noting that he also engaged with United
States President Donald Trump and his administration from the
start of his tenure.
However, the US administration’s decision to close office of the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Washington D.C., the
proclamation of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and
transferring of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, not
only violate UN resolutions, they have also undermined the
two-state solution, added President Abbas.
Those decisions, have also caused the US administration to lose
its eligibility as the mediator in the Middle East peace process,
he said.
“The path to peace is enshrined in your [the UN] resolutions,
including resolution
67/19 of 29 November 2012, which was adopted by an
overwhelming majority and refers to the State of Palestine on the
basis of the 1967 borders,” he stressed.
Mr. Abbas also highlighted what he called “racist” laws enacted
recently in Israel, which not only discriminate against the
Palestinian-Arab citizens, but, will also lead to the
“inevitable” nullification of the two-state solution.
Palestinian people and the territory of the state of Palestine
are in urgent need of international protection, he said, and
while he welcomed economic and humanitarian support in the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip but added that such support cannot be a
substitute to a political solution to bring an end to the Israeli
occupation.
President Abbas also highlighted the importance of the work of
the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
East (UNRWA) and urged all
countries as well as the General Assembly to support the agency.
