Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed on Monday that Saudi Arabia remains supportive of the Palestinian people.
Speaking at the launch of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s Palestinian National Council (PNC) in Ramallah, he lauded the strong Arab support for the Palestinian people and their rights, as expressed during the Arab League summit that was hosted by the Kingdom in April.
The Dhahran Arab Summit was indeed the “Jerusalem Summit” where the Palestinian Authority accomplished all it set out to achieve, Abbas continued.
The summit was dubbed the “Jerusalem Summit” in wake of the tensions that emerged after US President Donald Trump announced last year his intention to relocate his country’s embassy in Israel to the holy city, sparking outrage in the Palestinian territories and Arab and Muslim worlds.
The four-day PNC, which last convened in 1996, will include the election of new members.
Abbas expressed gratitude to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's backing of the PA.
On a possible peace deal being drafted by the US, he said: "We hear lots of rumors. Don't believe them.”
The president asserted that a peace deal that overlooks the question of Jerusalem, refugees and Israeli settlements would not be accepted by the Palestinians.
Abbas criticized the US, saying that if Washington wants to offer a deal, then it should be a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.
“We will not accept anything else,” he said.
Meanwhile in Amman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed: “The Israelis and Palestinians need to have political engagement.”
He made his remarks after holding talks with King Abdullah II.
