RAMALLAH, Thursday, January 31, 2019 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas said during a joint press conference in Ramallah with visiting Maltese President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca that what encouraged Israel to act as a state above the law was the support of the US administration.

“What encourages Israel to act as a state above the law is the US administration‘s support and its blind bias towards the [Israeli] occupation, by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and by moving the US embassy to it in violation of the resolutions of international legitimacy,” the President said.

During the conference, President Abbas called for launching an international peace conference and the establishment of a multilateral mechanism to lead the way forward.

He said the European Union and the members of the UN Security Council should have an important role in that mechanism, “ensuring the freedom and independence of the Palestinian people in their state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, alongside the State of Israel in security and good-neighborliness.”

The two leaders discussed the important role Malta can play in achieving peace through its membership in the European Union.

M.N