President Abbas thanks Slovenia for its courageous, principled positions on the recognition of Palestinian statehood

RAMALLAH: In a telephone call with Slovenian Prime Minister, Robert Golob, President Mahmoud Abbas thanked the friendly Slovenian people and the Slovenian Parliament for their country's courageous and principled positions on the recognition of the State of Palestine. This step complements previous positions of Slovenia in support of international law and legitimacy and the rights of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence, stressed the president during the telephone call. President Abbas said that such noble positions by Europe offer hope to the Palestinian people of the possibility of stopping the Israeli occupation's destruction and aggression against them. Such noble positions provide Palestinians with the hope of achieving peace in accordance with international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative, leading to the embodiment of their independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, said the president. The President urged all European countries that have not yet recognize d the State of Palestine to follow suit and to support the Palestinian bid for full membership in the United Nations, in order to create conditions that would be conducive to achieving peace. President Abbas reiterated during the call the need to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression waged against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. He stressed the need for a full withdrawal of the occupation forces from the entire Gaza Strip and an increase in the introduction of aid to Gaza to avoid the risk of famine facing its population due to Israel's control and blockade of all border crossings of the Strip. For his part, the Slovenian Prime Minister reaffirmed his country's deep belief in the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the achievement of peace based on international law. He said that Slovenia's decision to recognize the Palestinian state would contribute to providing hope for peace, reiterating his call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the introduction of aid to the Palestinian people. The President urged for respecting international law as the basis for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Source: Palestine news & Information Agency - WAFA