*We cannot accept any solution except the independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, says His Highness the Amir
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks at the Emiri Diwan on Thursday.
Saeb Erekat, Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation described the talks as constructive and fruitful.
In an exclusive interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Erekat said Abbas lauded the Amir's positions towards the Palestinian issue.
He said the Amir renewed Qatar' support for the Palestinian people.
"We are with you. We are with Palestinian legitimacy. We are with the Palestinian project. We cannot accept any solution except the independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 borders," the Amir told Abbas, according to Erekat.
"We will support you with all we have in this direction," the Amir told Abbas.
The Amir also stressed the need for Palestinian national unity, Erekat added.
He said the talks took place within the framework of continuous communication and consultation between the two leaders.
Erekat said Abbas hailed Qatar's rejection of the US administration's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the US embassy there.
He added that Abbas praised Qatar's efforts in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip through the legitimate authority and the Palestinian government.
"Qatar is one of the first countries that is contributing to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip," he added.
Erekat said the Palestinian president reiterated his readiness to achieve reconciliation in "the supreme Palestinian interest."
Palestinian Basic Law
The Palestinians will have a "national unity government" with co-operation between the Fatah, Hamas and all other factions, and this government will assume its full responsibilities in accordance with the Palestinian Basic Law, and then proceed to hold general elections, Erekat quoted Abbas as telling the Amir.
He noted the Palestinian president praised the efforts made by Qatar under the leadership of the Amir in supporting the Palestinian cause at all levels and in various forums.
He stressed that Qatar has exerted every effort and continues to do more to help the Palestinian people, particularly to achieve reconciliation.
According to Erekat, Abbas told the Amir that his highest priority was reconciliation.
The PLO official said that the Amir too stressed on reconciliation which would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He described the meeting between the Palestinian President and HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani as constructive and the two sides agreed on several points and continued co-ordination to achieve the interests of the Palestinian people.
Erekat stressed that the Palestinian side relies heavily on the role Qatar and others play to achieve the Palestinian reconciliation, but said, "If we do not help ourselves as Palestinians, no one will help us."
Erekat said Abbas's visit to Qatar comes within the framework of co-ordination and co-operation between the two leaderships, pointing out that there are almost daily contacts between the leaders.
He said the ‘deal of the century,’ made by US President Donald Trump by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and moving the US embassy has come as a big blow.
The decision by the US to cut aid of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the move by the Israeli government to pass a law in the Knesset under the name of "nationalism" giving only the Jews the right to self-determination in Palestine, and turning the Gaza issue from a political to humanitarian one are all part of an attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
Erekat condemned the continued aggression and the Israeli escalation on the Gaza Strip at a time when the Palestinians are making every attempt to advance reconciliation and end internal divisions.
He recalled the Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation agreement in Doha in 2012 adopted by the two sides, and then Qatar submitted a paper in this regard in 2015 which was also accepted, and urged all those who can contribute along with Qatar to achieve reconciliation.
"The reconciliation we are talking about is not between two different countries but between one people. The West Bank, like Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, are all under occupation. The aggression and the war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against our people do not differentiate between Palestinians," he added.
He said that when a Palestinian pregnant woman and her daughter were killed, it was a human tragedy. He pointed out that the war crimes committed by the occupation forces against the Palestinians killed more than 200 martyrs and wounded 20,000.
Israel is carrying out expansion of settlement, all of which are part of attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause, he added.
"The ability of the Palestinians to defeat these attempts depends on one thing - national unity," Erekat stressed.
Arab position
On the Arab position towards the Palestinian issue, he said: "The Arabs may disagree very much among themselves, but there is no disagreement between them about preserving the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian national project and achieving Palestinian reconciliation.”
Erekat said in his interview that the Palestinian Authority always considers Gaza as an integral part of the territory of the State of Palestine, like Jerusalem, Nablus, Jericho and any other Palestinian area.
"We do not want to dwarf the issue. Gaza needs humanitarian assistance, projects and aid, because three wars have destroyed it and destroyed its infrastructure," he said, adding that what is happening in Gaza today is another destruction of the Strip and other crimes committed against it.
He stressed that the key to obtaining Palestinian rights is to achieve reconciliation and remove the causes of division and end it in all its manifestations.
"We do not want new agreements; the signed agreements are sufficient and only require to be implemented gradually,” Erekat said.
"We are ready immediately to carry out everything we have. We are with any effort to achieve Palestinian national reconciliation on the basis of enabling the Palestinian national government to assume its full responsibilities in accordance with the Basic Law and go to the polls in a free and fair manner," Erekat said.
He warned there is no justification for the Palestinian division, which the US president and the Israeli prime minister are trying to use in an attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
