Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas concluded a visit to the Spanish capital, Madrid, during which the Palestinian leader met with Spain’s King Felipe the 6th, as well as with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and other Spanish officials. During an official state luncheon with the Spanish Monarch Filipe, President Abbas accused Israel of attempting to change the identity and nature of Jerusalem, while declaring that the Palestinian leadership remains committed to peace based on international resolutions and principles, which aim at realizing a two-state solution. Abbas said, “In east Jerusalem, Israel is attempting to change its identity and nature, with no respect to its historical Christian and Islamic holy sites. In this light, we re-affirm here that we are committed to lasting peace based on international resolutions and the principles of the (1991) Madrid Conference and the Arab principles of peace,” the Palestinian leader declared. In response to President Abbas’ accusation of Israel’s attempts to so-called “Judaize” Jerusalem, a senior Israeli official told TV7 that “the unfounded Palestinian narrative is part of their ongoing propaganda against the Jewish state.” The officials further asserted that “the Palestinians seek to fuel an ignorant bias against Israel, attempting to distort facts that are clearly and definitively portrayed in the bible.”
Meanwhile, in what Palestinian sources told TV7 was not a pre-calculated decision, President Mahmoud Abbas instructed Palestinian representatives in Washington to suspend contact with their American counterparts, that after the Trump administration put the Palestinian leadership on notice, warning Ramallah that unless they enter into serious peace negotiations with Israel, the United States will have no-other-choice but to close the Palestinian mission in Washington. The apparent threat by Washington came after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has determined that the Palestinians breached an obscure provision of an American law that explicitly demands the closing of the ‘Palestine Liberation Organization’s mission’ if the Palestinians would attempt to prosecute Israeli officials for alleged crimes against Palestinians, at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The Palestinian President’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, confirmed Abbas’ decision, yet stressed that the directive instructed only low-level personnel to suspend contact with their American counterparts, emphasizing that “the Palestinian relations with the United States Administration and President Donald Trump remain excellent.”