President Abbas meets with Venezuelan President Maduro in Kazan

KAZAN: President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday met with the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan. President Abbas briefed his counterpart Maduro on the Palestinian leadership's efforts aimed at halting the Israeli genocidal aggression on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and stressed the importance of concerted international efforts to reach a ceasefire, ensure the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from all parts of the Strip, allow humanitarian aid access to the Strip , particularly to the northern Strip that has been subjected to tightened siege and massacres for over two weeks. He reaffirmed the State of Palestine's categorical rejection of the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and reiterated that peace and security could be achieved through implementing the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion, which found t hat Israel's decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories was unlawful and that its near-complete separation of people in the occupied West Bank breached international laws concerning racial segregation and apartheid. He elaborated that to bring about peace and security, the ICJ advisory opinion should be implemented as per the UNGA resolution and based on the UN resolutions and international law, and includes, inter alia, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the territories of the State of Palestine, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. President Abbas also informed Maduro of the efforts exerted by the State of Palestine, with international support, to secure more recognitions of the State of Palestine and realize the establishment of the State, while pointing out that Palestine would press ahead with its bid for full and equal membership of the United Nations. He thanked his counterpart, Maduro, for his positions in support of the Palestinian question and the Palestinian people's r ight to establish their independent state on their national soil, with East Jerusalem as its capital. President Abbas had separate similar meetings with President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, and Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed. He arrived to Kazan Tuesday evening to attend the BRICS summit at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA