President Mahmoud Abbas Friday voiced appreciation of Pope Francis’ position rejecting plans to displace the Palestinian people. In a telegram sent to Pope Francis, President Abbas commended the Vatican for its position rejecting US President Donald Trump’s proposal to forcibly evacuate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, saying the population “must remain in its land.”
President Abbas affirmed that it was the Israeli occupation that should leave the Gaza Strip and the whole occupied territories in line with the United Nations resolutions and respect for human rights.
He added that he was totally confident that the Vatican would support Palestine’s noble endeavors to achieve just peace in the region, including most importantly the consolidation of Gaza ceasefire, halting the Israeli aggression on the West Bank cities and refugee camps, and advancing towards the implementation of the two-state solution based on the June 1967 borders, ending the occupation, and helping realize the establishment of the geographically contiguous independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
