Palestinian President Mahmoud Abass on Sunday urged the international community to provide USD 4 billion in urgent aid for the reconstruction of Gaza after the devastation caused by the last Israeli aggression on the Strip.
Abass made the call in his speech at the opening session of the Cairo International Conference on Palestine and Reconstructing Gaza in the Egyptian capital today.
He said that organizing the important event at a time of hard and intricate conditions in the region confirms that "the reconstruction of Gaza is linked to the Palestinian economy as a whole." The Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, constitute one "geographical entity" which we are seeking to end the Israeli occupation from, he said.
Abass affirmed that the Palestinians are abiding by peace and the relevant international agreements and charters. He warned that Israel's noncompliance with these, neither with resolutions of the international legitimacy, the two-state settlement and resolving the refugees issue "pushes the region toward violence and conflict." "International anti-terrorism efforts lose credibility as long as Palestinians' sufferings drag on," He told the conference, adding that the last Israeli aggression on Gaza revealed how fragile and risky the situation is due to the "absence of a just system." Abass noted that the international community has to set a time limit for ending the Israeli occupation and settlers' aggressions against the Palestinian people, Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque, which could pave the way for serious negotiations to settle issues of final status.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian President warned against the risky situation in the Middle East as a whole, which is going through a wave of "unprecedented extremism and soaring sectarianism" which poses a threat to the "security of the whole region." He also revealed that Jewish organizations had called the world's Jews today to flow to the Aqsa Mosque, claiming it is the site of the ancient Solomon's Temple.