In a speech on Wednesday, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas issued an ultimatum to US President Donald Trump, saying he must choose between peace or war.
“Jerusalem is the gate of peace and war — Trump must choose,” Abbas said, stating that the city would be “a gate for peace only when it’s the capital of Palestine.”
Speaking at Al Azhar University in Cairo, Abbas focused on the subject of Jerusalem, saying that President Trump’s recognition of the city as Israel’s capital was “sinful.”
Abbas insisted that the Palestinians have always acted in a peaceful manner and will continue to do so, saying that “a popular and peaceful resistance is the path that will succeed and that we will continue on.”
Abbas cited Palestinian protests in Jerusalem last July over the installment of metal detectors at the entrances to the Temple Mount as an example of peaceful resistance. The security measure came in response to a terror attack launched from within the Temple Mount compound that killed two Israeli security personnel. Over one hundred Palestinians were injured and three were killed in the ensuing riots that also injured many Israeli security personnel.
“We will resort to all the options but we will not resort to terrorism and violence,” Abbas said. “We have other means, including returning to the masses of our nation to take their role in working for the sake of Jerusalem.”
In his speech, Abbas expressed a distrust for American involvement in negotiations.
“Trump changed the position held by other (American) administrations. How can we trust such an administration to mediate between us and the Israelis? We don’t trust it, and we don’t accept the United States as a mediator.”
He urged Muslims and Christian worldwide to “defend” Jerusalem. Abbas said repeatedly that Jerusalem was a city for Muslims and Christians, without mentioning Jews.
“We need your support, for you to stand by us,” Abbas said.
Abbas insisted that Palestinian rule over Jerusalem would open the city to all religions, including Judaism. Designated as Area A under the Oslo Accords, it is illegal for Israelis to enter, and Jews who have inadvertently done so have been attacked by Palestinian civilians and PA security personnel.
Abbas praised the actions of 16-year-old Ahed Tamimi, a young woman was caught on video kicking and beating two Israeli soldiers. The soldiers did not respond, but Tamimi was arrested by the Israeli security forces several days later.
“She attacked and struck an armed soldier and didn’t fear. Now she sits in prison,” Abbas said of Tamimi.
During his speech, he claimed that the Palestinians are the descendants of the ancient Canaanites mentioned in the Torah.
“We’ve been here for 5,000 years, from the days of the Canaanites who built Jerusalem. We are the Canaanites,” Abbas said. “We’ve remained here and we are not leaving our land.”
“We are sticking to peace as a choice for our people, but not peace at any cost—one that is based on international decisions that ensure the establishment of a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders,” Abbas said, referring to the borders that existed in the region before the Six Day War, when Judea, Samaria, and east Jerusalem were occupied by Jordan in contravention of international law.
Rabbi Hillel Weiss, spokesman for the nascent Sanhedrin, emphasized that by his very statements, Abbas was showing that he had no connection to Jerusalem.
“Contained within its name is the word ‘peace’,” Rabbi Weiss told Breaking Israel News, referring to the first mention of the city in the Bible.
And King Melchizedek of Shalem brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of Hashem Most High. (Genesis 14:18)
“That is the nature of the city and its destiny,” Rabbi Weiss said. “The heart of the city is the Temple Mount, which is the House of Prayer for All Nations. By excluding the prayers of other religions, by insisting that Jerusalem be the source of conflict, the Palestinian Authority has rejected Jerusalem.”
