Abbas calls on Palestinians to 'stand up for J'lem, capital of Palestine'

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Settling the issue of Jerusalem is the key to peace, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday. Speaking at an event marking 'Jerusalem, Capital of Arab Culture for 2009' Day in Bethlehem, Abbas said that Israel's policies of "racism, oppression, land-grabbing and demolitions" must stop before peace negotiations could continue. He also called on Palestinians to "stand up for Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine." The PA president vowed "we will continue to strive for peace… peace based on the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, on the 1967 borders, whose capital is Jerusalem."