RAMALLAH, President Mahmoud Abbas received today his Swiss counterpart Guy Parmelin who is in an official visit to Palestine, and discussed with him the latest political developments in the country, foremost of which are the illegal Israeli settlement activities.
President Abbas also discussed with Parmelin Israel’s plan to evict indigenous families in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, illegal Jewish prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied capital, and Israel’s recent outlawing of six Palestinian human rights groups.
During the meeting, the President called upon all the countries of the world that endorse the two-state vision and which recognize the State of Israel to recognize the State of Palestine as an independent country.
Concerning the Palestinian-US relations, the President said, “We are in contact with the US government. We have heard good words from President Joe Biden, including with regard to his support for the two-state solution, his respect for the status quo in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, his rejection of the displacement of the Palestinians of Jerusalem, his rejection of settlement activities, and his rejection of all unilateral actions.”
On the issue of occupation, President Abbas said, “The current situation is very dangerous, and we extend our hand to the Israelis in order to implement confidence-building steps, and then start a political path according to the vision of the two-state solution.”
“Otherwise, we have other options that we will make, and I emphasize here that we will not resort to violence at all, which is not our policy, but we cannot continue living under occupation forever, especially since we are the only people in the world who are under occupation.”
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency