Abbas Explains Jerusalem and Jewish Nationality

From an interview to the Egyptian weekly October by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud 'Abbas published on July 12, 2009

'Abbas:..."Olmert said: 'I have an idea regarding the Holy Basin.' There is a difference between saying the Holy Basin and putting things on the [negotiating] table [that is, talking specifically about the entire area of the Holy Basin]. Olmert placed a proposal on the table and he spoke of the Haram [Al-Sharif], the Mount of Olives, and the cemetery, and said: 'All this area is the Holy Basin. We propose that it be overseen by an international committee.' [He said this] even though the idea of an international committee was proposed originally at Camp David and in the 1947 Partition Resolution. This is why I say that there is a difference between saying that this is the Haram and the Holy Basin, and that a commission should be established on this basis, and saying that only what is placed on the negotiating table is regarded as the Holy Basin. In the end, we did not agree on anything...

...Israel does not interest us, and its name doesn't interest us either. It can call itself whatever it wants, but I'll call it Israel. I don't want to get into details concerning Israel's society. They say that they have 1.5 million Arabs and half a million Russian Christians – that is, two million non-Jews out of five or six million people with Israeli citizenship – but it is impossible to know exactly how many Israelis there are because they [count] anyone with an Israeli passport. This was said at Annapolis, and that conference nearly failed, even though representatives of over 50 countries were participating in addition to the U.S.

"The Israeli side was forced to withdraw its request, and later withdrew it. I was amazed at how Israel selectively chooses a few sections from the Partition Resolution and rejects the others.

Question: "Does [the concept of] Israel as a Jewish state constitute an alternative to the national Zionist enterprise?"

'Abbas: "I maintain that the [Israelis'] main aim is to rid itself of non-Jews and to eliminate the [Palestinian] right of return. But the PA is determined regarding this right. I have five million refugees and I cannot tell them, 'Return to Israel, which you came out of.' I also cannot prevent them from doing so. The solution is negotiation [on the refugee issue] based on the Arab initiative, which called for a just and agreed solution...

"A senior Israeli official whom I don't want to name once told me: 'We can concede on the settlements in exchange for your concession on the right of return.' I told him: 'Let's discuss this. Aren't the settlements vital for you?' He said, 'Well.' I said: 'Inasmuch as they are not important, get out of them and let's get ready for another round of negotiations, which will deal only with the right of return, because this issue is vital to us.' He said: 'You've turned into a Jew.'...