Abbas says going to UN even if it conflicts with others' interests

President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority would insist on the UN bid seeking to obtain international recognition that Palestine is a state under occupation rather than a disputed territory.

“Even if this step conflicts with other parties' interests, we will not step back,” Abbas said in remarks at Al-Najah National University as he joined a ceremony to honor top high school graduates in Nablus district.

“Israel neither halted settlement activities, nor recognized the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967 as occupied territory. Thus, the only choice we have is to go to the UN equipped with a united Arab stance,” Abbas added.

“In this homeland, we will secure foothold and will not leave. We will not repeat the mistakes of 1948 and 1967, but rather counter all hardships regardless how big they are until we build our Palestinian state with the noble Jerusalem as its capital.”

Abbas also addressed the Hamas-Fatah dispute, which he described as an ongoing case of “sleeplessness”. “Because we are a democratic people, we decided to carry out local elections on Oct. 20.”

With regard to the situation in Syria, he reiterated that the Palestinians decided to avoid any intervention in internal affairs of Arab states. “We will not intervene even if some people are trying force us to intervene. The Syrian people have supported the Palestinian cause very much and we hope Syria will recover because it’s the pulse of the Arab world.”

Abbas also denounced the attack on Egyptian soldiers in Sinai Sunday evening. “This was a crime which we condemn. I telephoned President (Muhammad) Mursi to offer condolences and we decided to lower flags to half-mast for one day in honor of the Egyptian martyrs. Egypt has done a lot to the Palestinian cause for tens of years.”

Abbas visited Nablus in the afternoon where he was received by the governor, Jibreel al-Bakri, member of Fatah Central Committee Mahmoud al-Aloul, the PA minister of endowments Mahmoud al-Habbash amongst other officials and security leaders.

Abbas and about a hundred dignitaries from Nablus district had Iftar with 350 orphans and their families from Nablus district in addition to more than 50 disabled people and 50 top high school graduates.