Palestinian President Calls for Pressure on Israel to Stop Settlement Expansion and Settler Terrorism

Ramallah/ Qais Abu Samra/ Anadolu

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Monday for pressure on the Israeli government to stop settlement expansion and settler terrorism in the occupied West Bank, which "is capable of destroying the two-state solution."

This came during a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at the presidential headquarters in the city of Ramallah in the center of the occupied West Bank.

Abbas emphasized the need to pressure Israel "to stop undermining national institutions and destroying the two-state solution through settlement expansion and settler terrorism, as well as to release the withheld funds (taxes), and stop attacks on Christian and Islamic holy sites."

The withheld funds are taxes imposed on goods imported to the Palestinian side, whether from Israel or through border crossings controlled by Tel Aviv, which the latter collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

However, starting in 2019, Israel decided to deduct amounts from them for various pretexts, then Tel Aviv stopped transferring any part of them about six months ago, plunging the Palestinian Authority into an unprecedented financial crisis.

In this context, Abbas expressed his country's readiness to work with US President Donald Trump and mediators and partners to achieve a just peace, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

The Arab Peace Initiative, adopted by the Arab League in 2002, stipulates the establishment of an internationally recognized Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, a just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue, and Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and the territories still occupied in southern Lebanon, in exchange for Arab countries' recognition of Israel and normalization of relations with it.

Abbas stressed the important role that Greece, with the support of the European Union, can play in enhancing peace and stability opportunities in the region and the world.

Abbas reiterated the urgent need for the immediate implementation of the US President's plan and UN Security Council Resolution 2803 adopted last November regarding ending the war on the Gaza Strip.

In this regard, he called for "consolidating the ceasefire (in Gaza), ensuring the immediate flow of humanitarian aid including food, medicine, and shelter materials, preventing displacement, withdrawing Israeli forces, enabling the Palestinian government and its national security apparatuses to fully exercise their responsibilities, alongside accelerating reconstruction efforts."

The ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, which came into effect on October 10 last year, ended a genocide war launched by Tel Aviv on October 8, 2023, which left nearly 71,000 Palestinian dead and more than 171,000 injured, and massive destruction with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at about 70 billion dollars.