"Jerusalem is not for sale and the Palestinian people’s rights are not up for bargaining," said Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas in his speech at the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
"Despite all of this, and from this august platform, I renew my call to (US) President Trump to rescind his decisions and decrees regarding Jerusalem, refugees and settlements, which contravene international law and UN resolutions, as well as the understandings among us, in order to salvage the prospects for peace and to achieve stability and security for the future generations in our region," said Abbas.
The President strongly criticized Israel's Nation-State Law, which he described as racist.
"This law denies the connection of the Palestinian people to their historic homeland and dismisses their right to self-determination and their history and heritage, as well as the United Nations resolutions relevant to the Palestine question and the agreements concluded with Israel. This law will inevitably lead to the creation of one racist State, an apartheid state, and nullifies the two-State solution," he said.
He also said that he extends his hands for peace, stressing that he wants a Palestinian state established by peaceful means.
"Here, I must reiterate that we are not against negotiations and have never rejected negotiations and that we continue to extend our hands for peace," he said.
"Jerusalem is not for sale and the Palestinian people’s rights are not up for bargaining Peace in our region cannot be realized without an independent Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and not someplace in East Jerusalem as its capital, and with all of its holy sites. There is no peace otherwise. There is no peace with a state of temporary borders," Abbas added.
ILKHA