No elections can be held without Jerusalem

No elections can be held without Jerusalem

Ramallah (UNA-OIC) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday reaffirmed that no elections can be held without Jerusalem.

Speaking during a Fatah Central Committee’s meeting in Ramallah, President Abbas reiterated that the general elections could not be held if East Jerusalemite Palestinians can’t participate, while underscoring his determination to hold the elections throughout the occupied territories, comprising the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

“Jerusalem is a red line, and we won’t accept any harm to it. We affirm that we will not accept under any circumstances that the general elections be held, without [allowing] East Jerusalemites to cast their votes, run as electoral candidates and hold electoral campaigns,” he stated.

Abbas commended the East Jerusalemites for their “steadfastness in the face of Israeli schemes aimed at controlling the holy city” as he made reference to the recent nightly violent Israeli police and settler assaults against and clashes with the residents of the city amid simmering tensions surrounding the holy month of Ramadan.

He called upon the international community, including the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and China, to put pressure on Israel to comply with the signed agreements, which allow East Jerusalemite Palestinians to participate in the elections.

Commenting on revising the long-stalled peace process, Abbas stressed the importance of pursuing efforts with international actors, particularly the International Quartet, to launch a political process based on the two-state solution and in line with relevant United Nations resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative conducive to the establishment of the independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He also stressed the need to hold an international peace conference with the participation of all concerned parties to salvage the peace process, which is being systematically undermined by the Israeli government through the pursuit of its colonial expansionist policies.

“Failing to hold elections in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Palestine, means returning to the implementation of the so-called Deal of the Century,” which is designed to force Palestinians into submission to perpetual Israeli dominance.

Meanwhile, the Fatah Central Committee affirmed in its final communiqué that the Palestinian people will never accept a state with provisional borders nor any plans that contradict with the Palestinian National Council’s decisions and UN resolutions.

The committee voiced its hopes for developing the Palestinian-US relations in a manner that helps foster an environment conducive to launching a genuine peace process based on international law and the United Nations resolutions and helps foster regional peace and stability.

It reiterated the full readiness of the Palestinian side to engage with international actors, particularly the Quartet, to attain a political solution that ensures regional security and stability through the establishment of the Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Source link