Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on Arab states to carry through with the financial obligations they have pledged to fulfill during past Arab summits, and to support Jerusalem in the face of the policy of ethnic cleansing carried out by Israel in the Holy City, Palpress, the Palestine Press News Agency, reported on Friday. Speaking at the 23rd Arab League summit in Baghdad on Thursday, Abbas revealed the content of the official letter that he intends to transfer to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying, We will move the Palestinian people from occupation to independence, Palpress reported. Palpress says it is an independent news agency in Palestine with an official license from the Palestinian Ministry of Information. According to its report, Palpress said that Abbas accused Israel of carrying out a policy of ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem, adding that the occupation authorities work with unprecedented and most brutal means towards the implementation of what it sees as the final chapter in the fight to remove the Islamic character, and of Christians, in the Holy City through exhaustive punitive taxes, house demolitions and land confiscations. Abbas stressed that the Palestinian Authority would not resume negotiations with Israel until it stops settlement activity, particularly in Jerusalem. According to the Maan News Agency, Abbas called on the Arab League to support east Jerusalem, and urged Arab leaders to uphold a previous commitment to grant $500 million in support. He called on Muslims and Christians around the world to visit the holy city. We have absolute faith that the issue of Jerusalem remains a centerpoint of the joint Arab work and relations, Abbas was quoted as saying. He praised Moroccos work on this issue in particular. Donor countries have given billions of dollars to the Palestinians since 1993, but support has dropped of late. Arab leaders, in particular, have regularly failed to fulfill pledges of aid to Abbas Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank. In Baghdad, Abbas told The Associated Press late Wednesday that he has talked to the Arab world leaders and that there are demands related to financial support, especially supporting Jerusalem ... because the PA is in a difficult financial situation. Meanwhile, foreign diplomats say Abbas has dropped a planned threat to dismantle his autonomy government to protest the deadlock in peace efforts with Israel. Abbas had been planning to deliver the threat in a letter to Israel. But, according to a copy of the letter obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, the language has been dropped from the text. The diplomats who provided the letter said Abbas scrapped the threat at the urging of U.S. President Barack Obama. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the letter has not yet been sent. Dismantling the Western-backed Palestinian Authority has always been considered a last-resort option for the Palestinians. The move would mean the end of peace efforts and force Israel to take responsibility for the well-being of several million Palestinians. In the late night interview, Abbas also acknowledged for the first time that reconciliation efforts between his Fatah movement and its rival Hamas has reached a dead end. He blamed Hamas for the impasse. The reconciliation is stuck, the questions is, why it is stuck- he said. We had agreed on the vision and conditions and goals for reconciliation, then it was rejected by some Hamas leaders ... the ball is in their court. The minute they decide, Im ready.
