PARIS, Wednesday, July 20, 2022 – President Mahmoud Abbas today praised France’s positions in support of achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

Speaking at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, President Abbas expressed appreciation for France’s commitment to the two-state solution in accordance with UN resolutions, and its efforts to support the Palestinian people in their pursuit of freedom and independence.

He said he counts on President Macron’s role in launching initiatives to advance peace efforts in the Middle East, in cooperation with European and Arab partners. President Abbas affirmed his readiness to work with France toward achieving peace based on international law and UN resolutions, to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine.

He stressed the need to halt unilateral actions that undermine the two-state solution—especially illegal Israeli settlement construction—and to implement signed agreements as a basis for reopening a political horizon grounded in the 1967 borders. This, he added, would ensure that all states in the region live side by side as good neighbors in peace and security.

Addressing ongoing Israeli policies in Jerusalem, President Abbas condemned measures aimed at erasing the city’s Palestinian identity, altering its demographics, legal status, and religious character. He highlighted forced expulsions of Palestinian families in neighborhoods such as Sheikh Jarrah, home demolitions, encroachments on holy sites, and the seizure of church properties.

President Abbas reiterated his gratitude to the European Union and its member states for their continued role in supporting peace, stability, and economic development for the Palestinian people.

He once again called on EU states to recognize the independent State of Palestine on the 1967 borders, particularly after 74 years since the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of approximately 750,000 Palestinians during the Nakba, in order to safeguard the two-state solution and the Palestinian right to self-determination.

He also emphasized the Palestinian leadership’s ongoing efforts to build state institutions based on the principles of the rule of law, transparency, accountability, and partnership with civil society and the private sector.

President Abbas concluded by stressing the need for international intervention to enable the holding of presidential and legislative elections across all the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

President Abbas arrived in Paris on Tuesday evening for an official visit.