Fatah delegation visits North Korea, gives letter from Abbas to Kim Jong-Un, briefs host on Israel’s desecrating the “sanctity of... holy sites,” host supports Abbas' anti-US positions and "emphasized the depth of the relations between the peoples"
Headline: “Al-Aloul gave a letter from [PA] President Abbas to his colleague in North Korea”
“[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas’ envoy Fatah Movement Central Committee member [and Fatah Deputy Chairman] Mahmoud Al-Aloul gave President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice Chairman of the State Affairs Commission in North Korea Choe Ryong-hae a letter from President Abbas to his colleague [North Korean President] Kim Jong-un, in which he briefed him on the recent developments experienced by the Palestinian cause and the steps that the [Palestinian] leadership intends to take in the case of a declaration of what is called ‘the deal of the century’ (i.e., US President Donald Trump’s as yet unpublished Middle East peace plan).
During a meeting that was held yesterday [May 24, 2019], Al-Aloul briefed his host on the violations that the Israeli occupation state is committing against the land, people, and holy sites by increasing the rate of settlement, expropriating lands, targeting the lives and security of the Palestinian civilians, and desecrating the sanctity of the Islamic and Christian holy sites.
Choe Ryong-hae conveyed President Jong-un’s blessings to President Abbas and the Palestinian people, and emphasized the principled and firm position that supports the struggle of the Palestinian people, which is striving to get rid of the occupation and establish its independent state whose capital is Jerusalem.
He also saluted the brave position taken by President Abbas against the arrogance of the American administration and the great pressures that it is exerting. In addition, he condemned the decisions of American President Donald Trump, the transfer of his country’s embassy to Jerusalem (see note below –Ed.), and the siege policy that the US is imposing on the Palestinian people and its leadership.
Al-Aloul and his accompanying delegation also met with Workers’ Party of Korea Vice Chairman Pak Thae-song, and the two discussed ways of strengthening the relations between the party and Fatah and strengthening them in a way that will serve the interests of the two peoples.
Song emphasized the zealous position of the [Democratic] People’s Republic of Korea and the ruling Workers’ Party alongside Fatah in its leadership of the Palestinian struggle, and emphasized the depth of the relations between the peoples, which began in the period of [former North Korean] President Kim Il-song and [former PLO Chairman and PA] President Yasser Arafat and has developed in the period of Presidents Mahmoud Abbas and Kim Jong-un.”
US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel - On Dec. 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Trump added that the final borders of Jerusalem will be determined during negotiations. The US embassy was transferred from Tel Aviv and opened in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018, the anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence in 1948 according to the Gregorian calendar.
Yasser Arafat – Founder of Fatah and former chairman of the PLO and PA. During the 1960s, 70s and 80s Arafat was behind numerous terror attacks against Israelis. Although he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 together with then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and then Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres “for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East" after signing the Oslo Accords peace agreement, Arafat launched a 5-year terror campaign - the second Intifada (2000-2005) – in which more than 1,000 Israelis were murdered. Arafat died of an illness in 2004.