LONDON: The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said on Wednesday that an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, was the only path to a just and lasting peace.
Speaking alongside his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a joint news conference in Ankara after talks between the leaders, Abbas said any broader integration of Israel in the region must be tied to Palestinian statehood and conform to international law, UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
He said Palestinians would remain on their land and rejected displacement, Israeli settlement expansions and the seizures of occupied territory. Abbas described Israeli settlements as illegal and invalid under the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which was adopted in 2016, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported.
He praised Turkiye, Egypt, Qatar and the US for their efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the territory, and lay the groundwork for its recovery and reconstruction.
He added that he supports international efforts to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2803, which endorsed a US-backed plan to end the war in Gaza, in a manner that halts Israel’s military campaign in the territory, restores Palestinian Authority control over Gaza, and initiates a wider political process.
Abbas said Gaza remains an integral part of the State of Palestine and that any future arrangements for the territory must be implemented through Palestinian institutions to preserve the unity of the Palestinian political system and its sovereign institutions.
The Palestinian Authority, he said, continues to pay salaries and provide basic services in Gaza despite a worsening financial crisis and the withholding by Israeli authorities of Palestinian clearance revenues, which are taxes and other duties collected on behalf of the Palestinians by Israel, the value of which Abbas said now exceeded $6 billion.
He also reaffirmed plans to hold legislative elections on Nov. 28, followed by a meeting of the Palestinian National Council and presidential elections in 2027. The elections are part of a broader program of national reforms, he added.
During his discussions with Erdogan, Abbas highlighted what he described as a dangerous escalation by Israel in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, citing military raids, settler violence, settlement expansions, incursions at Muslim and Christian holy sites, and economic restrictions.
Israeli violence in the West Bank has intensified since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, which followed Hamas-led attacks on Israel. Palestinian communities have faced increased violence by Israeli settlers and soldiers, while settlement expansions have continued, including the establishment of new outposts, according to UN agencies and media reports.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a recent report that 1,122 Palestinians, including at least 246 children, were killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem between Oct. 7, 2023, and July 24, 2026; 76 of those deaths occurred in 2026.
Abbas also voiced his support for the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, which was signed on Aug. 7 by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, and said he hoped it would strengthen regional security and stability.
