Jerusalem is not for sale, Abbas tells UN
new york — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has cut to the heart of the Mideast dispute by starting his annual speech at the UN General Assembly by saying “Jerusalem is not for sale.”
Abbas uttered the words as soon as he took the podium on Thursday, even before his customary invocation of God and laying out the overall situation for the Palestinians.
Abbas spoke from the podium the day after US President Donald Trump suggested for the first time as US president that he “liked” a two-state solution as the most effective way to resolve their conflict.
The Palestinians welcomed the offer but remain deeply angry over Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to stop funding for the UN agency aiding the Palestinians.
Abbas said: “Jerusalem is not for sale and Palestinians’ rights are not up for bargaining.”
Abbas rejected the sole US mediation in Mideast peace efforts because of President Trump’s decisions to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and withdraw aid funding for the Palestinians.
Abbas urged Trump to rethink the decisions and urged member nations to support his push for Palestinian statehood.
But Abbas pledged not to revert to violence despite his accusations that Israel and the US have not held up promises to the Palestinians.
He said: “We are not redundant. Why are we treated as redundant people who should be gotten rid of?”
Abbas spoke after months of tensions between Israeli forces and the Hamas group that rules Gaza.