RAMALLAH, January 31, 2023 – President Mahmoud Abbas said today that the Israeli government bears full responsibility for the current deterioration on the ground, as it continues to undermine the two-state solution and violate signed agreements.

Speaking during a meeting with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, President Abbas also held the international community accountable for its failure to dismantle the Israeli occupation and end its settlement regime.

“We welcome you, and we affirm that the Israeli government is responsible for what is happening today due to its practices that undermine the two-state solution and violate signed agreements, as well as the absence of international efforts to dismantle the occupation, end the settlement regime, and recognize the State of Palestine with full membership in the United Nations,” said President Abbas.

He added: “The continued opposition to the Palestinian people’s efforts to defend their existence and legitimate rights in international forums and courts, and to secure international protection for our people, is a policy that encourages the Israeli occupier to commit more crimes and violate international law.”

President Abbas continued, “This comes at a time when Israel acts with complete impunity, without deterrence or accountability, as it carries out unilateral measures, including settlement expansion, de facto annexation of land, settler terrorism, incursions into Palestinian areas, killings, home demolitions, forcible displacement, attempts to alter Jerusalem’s identity, violations of the historical status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque, confiscation of Palestinian funds, and the continuation of policies amounting to ethnic cleansing and apartheid.”

He stressed, “After exhausting all means to compel Israel to cease its violations and adhere to signed agreements, we have taken a number of decisions that we have begun to implement in order to protect the interests of our people. The complete cessation of unilateral Israeli measures that violate signed agreements and international law is the essential entry point to restoring a political horizon, ending the occupation based on international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, and achieving peace, stability, and security for all in our region and beyond.”

President Abbas reaffirmed that “we have always committed ourselves to the resolutions of international legitimacy, the renunciation of violence and terrorism, and respect for signed agreements. We are now ready to work with the U.S. administration and the international community to revive political dialogue aimed at ending the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine, on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

He added, “Our people will not accept the continuation of the occupation indefinitely. Regional security will not be achieved by violating the sanctity of holy sites, trampling on the dignity of the Palestinian people, or ignoring their legitimate rights to freedom, dignity, and independence.”

For his part, Secretary Blinken expressed condolences to the families of Palestinians killed in recent violence. He reaffirmed that the U.S. administration opposes any actions by either side that could jeopardize the two-state solution, to which President Joe Biden remains committed.

He noted that this includes settlement expansion, the legalization of settlement outposts, home demolitions and evictions, disruptions to the status quo at holy sites, and incitement or acquiescence to violence, regardless of the perpetrator.

Blinken also said that the U.S. is working to reopen its consulate in East Jerusalem, which was closed by the previous administration under Donald Trump. He added that this step, along with others such as the announcement of $50 million in new support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), reflects the U.S. administration’s commitment to rebuilding relations with the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority.