President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday urged delegates to the Arab summit scheduled later this month to challenge Israel's designation of West Bank landmarks as "Israeli heritage sites."
Following a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, the president said "Arabs and Muslims must protect Jerusalem's holy places, and its residents, because they too are evicted from their homes and stripped of their identities."
"We hope to rescue Jerusalemites before it is too late," he added, speaking in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm Ash-Sheikh, where he met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for talks on developments in the occupied territories and efforts to resume negotiations with Israel.
Abbas also denied reports that Syria has rescheduled a visit to Damascus over concerns on the Palestinian Authority's policies, as well as indications Libya would not seek to invite the president to attend the Arab summit, scheduled for late March.
"There aren’t any problems with Libya, regarding the summit, because of Hamas, and we didn’t hear that any invitations were sent to Hamas to participate ... when I was in Libya, I heard nothing on this case," Abbas told reporters at a news conference.
Regarding peace talks, being pushed forward by the US, Abbas said: "We have a lot of discussions with the American side, and it is clear that we will discuss the negotiations issue and we will tackle it today, in full detail, and we will be committed to the results of the meeting."
"Negotiations with Israel ... have become uneasy, especially in light of the ongoing Israeli settlement construction and control of Palestinian sites Israelis claim to be theirs," Abbas said, adding that Palestinians would not remain idle as Israel continues its violations, particularly in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which recently saw confrontations as extremists attempted to enter for the Purim holiday.
The president also said he and Mubarak discussed the reconciliation process, which Egypt led for months following a breakdown last fall when Fatah signed a unity document deemed insufficient by Hamas. Minor alterations are needed before the Islamic movement will sign, Hamas officials have maintained. Fatah has urged Hamas to sign first and then talk modifications.
"Reconciliation is ready, but we are still waiting for Hamas' signature on the paper," Abbas said.
The Arabic-language daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Tuesday that Hamas and the Egyptian government were close to a deal on the document, after Egypt accepted certain alterations. Fatah leader Azzam Ahmad, however, told Voice of Palestine radio the report was baseless, as Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman maintains Cairo would reject any modifications.
Abbas said consultation with Egypt was paramount as developments unfold on a daily basis. "When we come to Egypt, we make sure we listen attentively to the Egyptian leaders' viewpoint, and we update them on our vision. We base our stand in light of consultations with Egyptian leaders," he said.
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