Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Monday joined Christmas celebrations according to Armenian Calendar and said Christians of Palestine are “the salt of this land and will never leave,” WAFA reports.
He said, during a reception ceremony held by the Armenian community on the occasion of Christmas in the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, that individuals who call to get rid of Christians especially Armenians should “eat their hearts out because Armenians will always remain in Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Bethlehem.”
“We would like to convey our best wishes to our beloved Armenian brothers in Palestine, in Armenia and in the entire world. We hope that the upcoming days would bestow us with goodness and love,” he said.
“We have sent a letter to His Excellency the Armenian President [Serzh] Sargsyan officially inviting him to visit Palestine and we hope he will accept the invitation,” the President added.
“We, Palestinians, have gone through similar experiences with the Armenians; both of us have been repressed, terrorized and banished. As the Armenian people emigrated from their country to ours and then to another place, we are experiencing the same struggle; we emigrated in the 1948 and the refugees in Syria are migrating to the sea, into exile and to places only God knows about,” Mahmoud Abbas continued.
“We share many similarities, and here we are truly one nation. We worship the same God and in the same homeland that we take huge care of. We all stand at the same level, you and us and everyone else. Therefore, when some individuals say it is imperative to get rid of the Christians and especially Armenians, we tell them to eat their hearts out, because Armenians will always remain in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem. Christians will always be the salt of this earth and will remain on their land and in their country. Whoever wants them to leave must do that instead,” President Abbas stated.
Photos from Ma’an News Agceny
