Abbas contacts world governments to halt Israeli measures

RAMALLAH - 20 July 2017: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas contacted several world governments to urge their intervention to put a stop to new Israeli measures in occupied East Jerusalem and particularly at the Muslim holy place, Al-Aqsa Mosque, where Israel had set up metal detectors that provoked tension across the occupied territory, WAFA reported Thursday.

Abbas, who has cut short a trip abroad and returned home to follow up on the explosive situation at the mosque, dispatched an official delegation to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to brief members of the United Nations Palestine Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on the deteriorating situation in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He instructed the delegation to include the recent developments in Jerusalem on the meeting’s agenda and to seek a position toward putting a stop to all Israeli measures at Al-Aqsa Mosque, particularly the removal of the recently installed metal detectors, and to respect the Status Quo at the mosque as well as freedom of worship.

Abbas stressed the importance of an Arab and Islamic stance on the issues threatening the status of Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem, urging them to support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the holy city.

He warned Israel against underestimating the feelings of the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim people around the globe and attempt to create new facts on the ground in contravention of international laws.