Abbas: Palestine foiled all suspicious projects to liquidate Palestinian cause

Head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, said Palestine has foiled all suspicious projects aimed to liquidate the Palestinian cause, reiterating his support for the Jordanian guardianship over holy sites in Jerusalem.

Speaking over the phone at the “Property Documentation and the Historical Status of the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque” conference, held in the city of Al-Bireh, Abbas said “we will not allow nor accept any changes to this legal and historical status quo (of Al-Aqsa Mosque), regardless of the circumstances”.

“Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine, is not for sale and all Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem are Palestinian,” he added.

Abbas added that the conference comes in the context of defending “religious and historical narrative”, in the face of the false and alleged narrative of the Israeli occupation.

“Our conflict with the occupation is essentially a political conflict and not a conflict with a particular religion,” Abbas said stressing that “Jerusalem and Palestine are not for sale,” and “we have foiled all suspicious projects to liquidate the Palestinian cause, particularly the deal of the century.”

READ: Israel started partitioning Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestine MP says

Abbas has reiterated Palestine’s commitment to respect the “historical status in Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem with all its sanctities”.

“We will not allow and will not accept a change in this legal and historical situation, whatever the circumstances” he said.

He added that Palestine and Jordan are in one trench in defence of Jerusalem, expressing his pride in the Jordanian guardianship of the holy sites in Jerusalem.

In March 2013, the Jordanian Monarch signed an agreement with Abbas, granting the Kingdom the right to “guardianship and defence of Jerusalem and the holy sites” in Palestine.