PA daily op-ed praises Abbas for refusing to stop “pay-for-slay” payments and supporting "Martyrs'" struggle

Excerpt of op-ed by Jordanian journalist Sultan Al-Hattab

Headline: “Abbas at the UN: No to the deal of the century”

“[PA] President [Mahmoud] Abbas emphasized his loyalty to the Martyrs, prisoners, and wounded before the world by saying that Israel is bargaining with him over them and pressuring him to abandon them, without understanding – or perhaps with understanding. However, it is essentially aiming to steal the spirit of the Palestinian people by removing its Martyrs from its body so that it will become a corpse, and so that the existence of the PLO and PA will become unjustifiable as they are the peak of the Martyrs’ struggle.

He said clearly that if he is left with only one dollar, he will pay it to the families of the Martyrs and the prisoners, and emphasized the roots and life force of the cause with which he is affiliated.

The occupation has acted with all its means to loosen President Abbas’ hold on the basic principles of the cause, to which he zealously adheres. However, the occupation has not succeeded and will not succeed in moving the president from his positions that we have heard, as he still stands as a lofty oak despite the strong winds.”