Palestinian President Calls for Reconciliation After UN Success

Doha, December 08 (QNA) - President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas said that the decision to head to the UN to obtain a non-member status for Palestine was an Arab-Palestinian decision. He stressed on the importance of reaching a Palestinian reconciliation, praising the outcomes of the meetings held in Cairo and Doha. The Palestinian President said that he was subjected to immense pressure in order to not go to the UN and stressed that he would not accept a Palestinian state without Al Quds. Abbas stressed on the importance of putting more effort in to realize an independent Palestinian state with Al Quds its capital. Abbas was addressing the Palestinian community in Qatar after he arrived in Doha to participate in the meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Arab Peace Initiative which will take place tomorrow Sunday. He said that gaining two thirds of the vote at the General Assembly represented a shock to many, adding that he personally expected only slightly more than half of the assembly to vote in favor of the Palestinian bid. He was even wary that delegates of some of the supporting countries might not even show up. Another shock, Abbas said, was that countries against the Palestinian bid were less than 10. Abbas warned Israel of continuing their settlement policy and said that Israelis must withdraw from the West Bank, if they wanted to live peacefully with Palestinians. (QNA)