Palestinian sources reported that President Mahmoud Abbas will be visiting Lebanon in the middle of this month as he accepted an official invitation from the Lebanese president, Michael Suleiman Aoun. Lebanon will be heading the UN security Council in September.The sources added that Abbas will be in Lebanon on August 16th and 17th, and that his visit will focus on the Palestinian UN move this coming September that aims at an international recognition of an independent state in addition to a full membership at the UN and its security council.
It is worth mentioning that Lebanon will be heading the UN Security Council this coming September; a Lebanese recognition of Palestinian statehood is expected to boost the Palestinian stance in the international arena.
Palestinian officials believe that Lebanon will officially recognize the Palestinian State during Abbas’ visit; Lebanon is the only Arab country that has not officially recognized the anticipated Palestinian state.
Syria was the last Arab state that recognized the Palestinian State; its recognition was officially declared last month.
During the visit, Abbas and Aoun will also be discussing the bilateral relations between Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority, and the situation of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
The Palestinian President has been conducting different Arab and European diplomatic tours in an effort to secure support for the Palestinian plan to head the United Nations in September to seek international recognition of an independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Israel and the United States, on the other hand, have been lobbying to counter the move, and the US is threatening to use its veto power to topple the move.
Both Washington and Tel Aviv claim that the move is counterproductive and “harms the efforts to resume the stalled peace talks”.
The Palestinian Authority of Abbas quit peace talks with Israel due to the ongoing Israeli
violations and attacks, in addition to the construction and expansion of settlements and the demolition of Palestinian homes, especially in occupied East Jerusalem.
