RAMALLAH, Friday, July 15, 2022 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, welcomed the important official visit of the President of the United States of America, President Joseph Biden, to Bethlehem, the cradle of Jesus Christ, the city of peace and hope, rich in the civilizational and cultural heritage of the Palestinian people.
President Abbas considered that this visit and meeting with President Biden will contribute to strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries and the Palestinian and American peoples, hoping that it will also contribute to creating the atmosphere to relaunch a political horizon based on international legitimacy resolutions. In this regard, we thank President Biden for his reconfirmation of the US administration’s commitment to the two-state solution on the 1967 borders, and that the establishment of an independent, sovereign, viable and contiguous Palestinian state living side by side with the State of Israel is the best solution for the two peoples to live in security and peace.
President Abbas also welcomed the US vision that Palestinians and Israelis deserve equal measures of freedom, security, prosperity and democracy, calling on President Biden to take concrete political measures to ensure that this vision is implemented on the ground.
President Abbas stressed the need to end unilateral steps that violate international law and undermine the two-state solution, including stopping the forced displacement of Palestinians, stopping house demolitions and daily killings, holding the killers of the journalist Shirin Abu Aqla accountable, and stopping colonial settlement activities, because all Israeli colonial settlements are illegal, and that halting these unilateral measures and steps is required to create conditions for a return to the political track, and to resolve all permanent status issues, including the Palestinian refugee issue, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and signed agreements.
President Abbas said that East Jerusalem, occupied since 1967, is the capital of the State of Palestine, stressing the need to stop the extremist groups’ incursions into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to preserve the historical status in the Christian and Islamic holy sites in East Jerusalem under the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s custodianship.
“We have agreed with President Biden to work with his administration on many critical issues to advance peace, security, stability, and advance the Palestinian economy,” the statement read.
President Abbas stressed his full readiness to cooperate with the US administration of President Biden to remove all obstacles to strong bilateral relations between the Palestinian and US sides, including removing the name of the PLO from the American lists of terrorism, reopening the US consulate in East Jerusalem, and reopening the PLO office in Washington.
In conclusion, President Abbas valued President Biden’s decision to resume US aid to the Palestinian people, including providing support to UNRWA and East Jerusalem hospitals.
Source: Palestine News & Info Agency