Abbas urges UN to accept Palestine's membership

Addressing the participants of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia in Istanbul on Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas firstly thanked Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for inviting him to Istanbul for the WEF meeting. Calling on the UN to accept Palestine's membership, Abbas said that Palestine could not make economic progress due to problems related with Israel's occupation. "However, there exist opportunities for investment in Palestine in the fields of tourism, real estate, agriculture, industry, communications, information technology, electricity production and distribution and water," Abbas said. He also called on everybody to visit Palestine. "When you do come, you can observe the incidents taking place in Palestine closely and explore opportunities for investments. Giving hand in hand, we can realize joint investments and partnerships. By economic strength, we will be able to help our people reach hopes that they have been waiting for patiently. I also want you to visit the prisoners in Jerusalem. Such a visit can have no religious or political goal. More than 45 years have passed since the West Bank was occupied on June 5. Unfortunately, the two-state solution faces many problems. Israel's continuation of widening residential sites with no legitimacy is an obstacle. Israel wishes to separate Eastern Jerusalem from whole Arab region. By isolating Jerusalem and the people of Jerusalem, Israel forces the people in Jerusalem to leave the region and their homeland. I request from you all to visit Palestine. Israel is trying to change the historic and religious configuration there. Israel conducts various attacks in the West Bank and Eastern Jerusalem," Abbas underlined.