Abbas calls for peace
October 14, 2015
Speaking on Wednesday, President Mahmoud Abbas urged Palestinians to peacefully resist Israel while also calling on the international community to intervene.
In the pre-recorded address, Abbas railed against Israel for rejecting peace and continuing to build settlements in the West Bank, insisting peace will only come once Israel ends its occupation of the Palestinian territories.
"This is a threat to peace and stability, and could trigger a religious conflict that can burn everything, not only in the region but maybe in the entire world," German news agency dpa reported Abbas as saying.
While the leader urged Palestinians to resist Israeli aggression, he also made an appeal to the international community, insisting the current conflict could eventually lead to a holy war.
Earlier this month, Abbas accused Israel of escalating the violence, which began when an Israeli settler couple was shot to death on October 1. The violence has only intensified since then, with as many as 21 knife attacks directed at Israelis and at least 25 Palestinians dead.
blc/cmk (dpa, AFP, AP)