President Abbas says leadership to seek UN action

President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that the leadership will seek action in the United Nations regarding the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially in the aftermath of the recent US and Israeli positions.

Speaking at the commencement of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee meeting in the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, President Abbas said the PLO Central Council will convene following the Palestinian action in the UN in order to decide on all matters.

“There are two important issues: the issue of Khan Al-Ahmar, whose population are at risk of displacement… This issue, besides the increase in Israeli settlement construction, is of utmost importance and danger,” Abbas told the meeting.

He continued, “There is also the issue of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where Israel may decide to -- and there is much evidence that it will -- allow Jewish prayers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This means that they [the Israelis] are seeking to reproduce the case of the Ibrahimi Mosque.”

The President added, “We will address all of these issues to the United Nations, as we already did in the PLO Central Council. But the most important of these issues is that we will go to the International Criminal Court.”

“As for Khan al-Ahmar, we have brought the case to the ICC and will also submit it to the International Court of Justice. As for the Al-Aqsa Mosque, we are consulting with our brothers in Jordan to have a united position before going to ICC and the International Court of Justice.”