Abbas praises unrest at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, calls to continue the "national struggle" until Jerusalem is Palestinian
PA Chairman Abbas’ statement at the ceremony for the conclusion of the summer camps of 2017, which the PLO Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs organized:
Headline: “The [PA] president to the children of Palestine: You are the hope, the future, the independence, and the state”
“[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas said that ‘The children of Palestine are the hope, the future, the independence, and the state, and in them we see Jerusalem, the capital of our independent state.’ These statements were made at a ceremony held at the [PA’s] presidential headquarters in Ramallah for the conclusion of the children’s summer camps of 2017, which the [PLO] Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs organized…
The president said: ‘When Israel decided to place checkpoints and metal detectors at the gates of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque (i.e., as a security measure following a lethal terror attack there; see note below), the men, young people, women, and children of Jerusalem rose up (i.e., launched violent riots –Ed.) in order to declare their refusal of these steps of the occupation, and they succeeded in opening the gates of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and removing the checkpoints with their resolve and perseverance.’
He added: ‘The [PA] leadership told them: We are with you and we support your resolve, and this is the reason that we say that the willpower of the peoples works wonders, and this is what happened at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.’
The president concluded by saying: ‘We are standing firm, persevering, and continuing in our national struggle until one of our boys and girls will wave the flag of the State of Palestine above the walls of Jerusalem.’”
A picture of the event shows Mahmoud Abbas sitting at the center of a podium. To his right sits Fatah Central Committee Secretary and Head of the PLO Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs Jibril Rajoub, and to his left is PA Minister of Education and Higher Education and Fatah Central Committee Deputy Secretary Sabri Saidam. They are watching young girls dance as part of the ceremony.
The mention of “metal detectors at the gates of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque” refers to Israeli security measures at the Temple Mount, including metal detectors at the entrances, following an attack there on July 14, 2017, in which 2 Israeli border police officers were murdered by 3 Israeli Arab terrorists. On July 24, 2017, Israel decided to remove the metal detectors and security cameras it had placed at the site. The PA continued to demand that all measures including inspections at the entrances be removed, and Palestinians continued to riot. On July 27, 2017, PA religious leaders declared that all Israeli measures had been removed.
Headline: “The [PA] president to the children of Palestine: You are the hope, the future, the independence, and the state”“[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas said that ‘The children of Palestine are the hope, the future, the independence, and the state, and in them we see Jerusalem, the capital of our independent state.’ These statements were made at a ceremony held at the [PA’s] presidential headquarters in Ramallah for the conclusion of the children’s summer camps of 2017, which the [PLO] Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs organized…
The president said: ‘When Israel decided to place checkpoints and metal detectors at the gates of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque (i.e., as a security measure following a lethal terror attack there; see note below), the men, young people, women, and children of Jerusalem rose up (i.e., launched violent riots –Ed.) in order to declare their refusal of these steps of the occupation, and they succeeded in opening the gates of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and removing the checkpoints with their resolve and perseverance.’
He added: ‘The [PA] leadership told them: We are with you and we support your resolve, and this is the reason that we say that the willpower of the peoples works wonders, and this is what happened at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.’
The president concluded by saying: ‘We are standing firm, persevering, and continuing in our national struggle until one of our boys and girls will wave the flag of the State of Palestine above the walls of Jerusalem.’”
A picture of the event shows Mahmoud Abbas sitting at the center of a podium. To his right sits Fatah Central Committee Secretary and Head of the PLO Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs Jibril Rajoub, and to his left is PA Minister of Education and Higher Education and Fatah Central Committee Deputy Secretary Sabri Saidam. They are watching young girls dance as part of the ceremony.
The mention of “metal detectors at the gates of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque” refers to Israeli security measures at the Temple Mount, including metal detectors at the entrances, following an attack there on July 14, 2017, in which 2 Israeli border police officers were murdered by 3 Israeli Arab terrorists. On July 24, 2017, Israel decided to remove the metal detectors and security cameras it had placed at the site. The PA continued to demand that all measures including inspections at the entrances be removed, and Palestinians continued to riot. On July 27, 2017, PA religious leaders declared that all Israeli measures had been removed.