Palestinian President meets with the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met today, Sunday, with the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee, chaired by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, with the participation of Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al-Zayani, and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, via closed-circuit television.

On the Palestinian side, the meeting was attended by Vice President of the State of Palestine Hussein Al-Sheikh and Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Mustafa.

His Excellency delivered a speech at the beginning of the meeting, in which he said: “We welcome our brothers, members of the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee in Palestine, headed by Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Chairman of the Arab Ministerial Committee, and the ministers who are members of the Committee, whom we are meeting with despite the occupation government’s refusal to allow them to visit us, and despite the rejection of every Arab and international effort that leads to ending this war that our Palestinian people are suffering from, and the prevention of our Arab brothers from joining us and receiving them on the land of the State of Palestine.”

He added, "We say to you: Thank you for this kind gesture that you have made in order to visit Palestine. The time must come, and it is very soon, for you to visit your second homeland, Palestine, God willing. We appreciate the efforts of your countries and send greetings and appreciation to our brothers, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and King Abdullah II and the Crown Prince, and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and his Crown Prince, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit."

President Abbas continued, saying, “We express our great appreciation for the efforts of this Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee, its members and its sister countries. This committee has traveled the world to stop the aggression in Gaza first, and then for the sake of the Palestinian cause. We tell you, it is time to focus efforts in the coming period. You have an important and necessary participation in the international peace conference that will be held in New York in the middle of this month. We hope that there will be a broad Arab and international presence to support the Palestinian cause and mobilize international recognition of the Palestinian state, especially from some European countries and others that have not yet recognized the Palestinian state.”

The President said: "In the State of Palestine, we have undertaken extensive governmental and constitutional reforms, emphasizing that our policy is based on rejecting terrorism and violence, and refusing to target civilians regardless of their nationality or affiliation."

President Abbas added, "We reiterate our call for Hamas to adhere to the PLO's commitments and policies, in accordance with the concept of one state, one law, and one legitimate weapon, if it wishes to become a member as a political faction within the PLO. Without this, we can never accept its membership."

President Abbas said that Hamas must relinquish control of the Gaza Strip, which it seized by force in a coup against Palestinian legitimacy in 2007. This coup must end, and with it, its negative effects that have harmed the Palestinian cause.

The President addressed the financial crisis facing the State of Palestine as a result of the Israeli occupation authorities' withholding of Palestinian funds, stressing the need to pressure the Israeli government to release the withheld Palestinian funds, which amount to approximately two billion dollars, and to exert Palestinian, Arab, and international efforts to provide financial and economic support in accordance with the government's program.

Regarding the ceasefire and the cessation of aggression against our Palestinian people, His Excellency said: We are in favor of an immediate ceasefire, and we have announced this since the first day of the aggression, because we want to stop the suffering of our people. Therefore, we always say: The hostages must be handed over to stop the shedding of Palestinian blood and the release of prisoners, to spare our people further suffering from the scourge of killing, destruction and genocide carried out by the occupation forces. Yesterday, about 50 citizens were martyred, and more than 150 others were wounded, because they were demanding food and medicine. Therefore, we say to everyone: The ceasefire must be reached at any cost, and relief and humanitarian aid must be provided for our Palestinian people, and the State of Palestine must assume its civil and security responsibilities in the Gaza Strip. We are ready to assume our responsibilities directly, in cooperation with our Arab brothers and relevant international parties, because it is important to us that peace and security prevail in the Gaza Strip, which is something very important, and we hope for the complete success of your efforts.