CAIRO, February 12, 2023 – President Mahmoud Abbas affirmed today that the Palestinian people and leadership remain steadfast in their commitment to their national rights and will continue to confront, with full determination, the plans of the most racist and extremist Israeli government targeting Al-Aqsa Mosque and all Palestinian sanctities.

Speaking at the Conference in Support of Jerusalem held at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, the President announced that in the coming days, the State of Palestine will approach the United Nations and its various bodies to demand the adoption of a resolution granting the State of Palestine full UN membership — a step aimed at protecting the two-state solution.

He added that the State of Palestine will also call on UN bodies to work toward ending Israel’s unilateral actions, particularly settlement construction, and to compel Israel to abide by signed agreements and international legitimacy resolutions.

The President reaffirmed that the State of Palestine reserves the right to resort to international courts and organizations to protect the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

“Supporting Jerusalem and strengthening the steadfastness of its residents is both a religious duty and a humanitarian and national obligation,” said the President.

He stressed that “the battle over Jerusalem did not begin with its occupation in 1967, but decades earlier — even before the Balfour Declaration, which was issued by the colonial powers, led by Britain and the United States.”

The Declaration, he explained, was aimed at “getting rid of the Jews in Europe and establishing the so-called Jewish national home in Palestine — an outpost created to safeguard the interests of colonial powers.”

The President continued: “Just as our people rejected the Balfour Declaration and its consequences, we also rejected all attempts to liquidate our cause or falsify its history. We rejected the so-called ‘Deal of the Century,’ and we continue to reject the relocation of the U.S. embassy or any other embassy to Jerusalem.”

President Abbas praised the initiative launched by the Qudsna Foundation under the auspices of Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and the Jerusalem Endowment Fund, which mobilized $70 million in support of Islamic Waqf projects in Jerusalem. He called on all parties to contribute to strengthening this important initiative and similar efforts in support of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in Jerusalem and across Palestine.