Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasSTR/Flash 90

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday that the US decision to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem will not harm the right of the Palestinian Arabs in Jerusalem and will not lead them to give up their principles and rights.

In a speech marking the 54th anniversary of Fatah's armed struggle, Abbas stressed that the Palestinian Arabs would not give their consent to the Trump administration’s so-called “Deal of the Century”, and that they see eastern Al-Quds (Jerusalem), including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as the capital of the Palestinian state.

In another message to the United States and Israel, Abbas stressed that the US punitive measures against the Palestinians would not change their position on “refugee rights” in accordance with the decisions of the international institutions, especially UN General Assembly Resolution 194.

"The continuation of the colonialist settlement and the occupation of the land of the State of Palestine will not break our willpower, nor will it harm our resolve, because our people will not kneel but to Allah, and this is our land and holy places, and this is the land of our forefathers and grandfathers," he stated.

Abbas further said that Israel's security measures in Judea and Samaria and its "racist" laws will not bring security and peace to Israel, but rather will expand the cycle of violence, extremism and bloodshed.

At the end of his speech, Abbas congratulated the families of the "martyrs" and the "brave" prisoners and promised them that the victory would come, noting that the issue of releasing the prisoners was at the top of their priorities.

"The glory and the eternity for the pure shaheeds, freedom for the heroic prisoners," he said.