Under the direction of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, his deputy Hussein al-Sheikh convened a meeting in Ramallah last night with Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, security chiefs, the attorney general and other senior officials.
The session addressed recent political and security developments, focusing on what they termed “Israeli escalation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem” and the ongoing Gaza war.
Participants highlighted the challenges facing Palestinians and their political system, while praising the growing global recognition of a Palestinian state as “a victory for the national rights of the Palestinian people, alongside justice, peace and security in the region.”
Following Abbas’s instructions, the meeting agreed to develop plans to bolster Palestinian resilience on their land, ensure security and support their needs during this critical period. A senior PA source said that a backup video of Abbas’s speech, set for Thursday at the UN General Assembly, was sent to Jordan.
This precaution stems from fears Israel might disrupt internet access in Ramallah during the broadcast, compounded by the Trump administration’s denial of visas to PA and PLO officials, including Abbas.
PLO official and Abbas ally Asad al-Khatib praised the recognition of a Palestinian state, noting Abbas has spent over a decade using his annual UN speeches to push for it, making it a global agenda item. Despite Israel’s past responses with military force and settlement expansion, al-Khatib claimed it has “suffered an unprecedented failure on the international and Arab stages.”
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Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas
(Photo: AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
He added that even if Western and former colonial powers now join the recognition and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing ministers mock it or install “a thousand iron gates” in West Bank cities and villages, “the historical reality remains: there is no solution but a political one.”
Abbas’s office welcomed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official recognition of Palestine, calling it “crucial and necessary for a just and stable peace.” Abbas urged an immediate Gaza ceasefire, aid delivery, release of hostages and prisoners, full Israeli withdrawal from the strip, reconstruction and de-escalation, alongside halting Jewish settlements and settler violence.