Next Eid in ‘liberated’ Jerusalem: Palestine’s Abbas

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas voiced hope on Friday – the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday – that next year’s Eid would see the city of Jerusalem “liberated from the Israeli occupation”.

In a brief statement to reporters after performing Eid prayers at the presidential office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Abbas extended his wish for a happy holiday to the Arab and Muslim world.

“Eid Mubarak to the Arab and Muslim nations,” he declared. “By next year’s Eid, we hope to see the liberation of Al-Quds Al-Sharif [Jerusalem] and the release of our jailed brothers [detained by Israel].”

Palestinians hold posters and light candles as they commemorate the death of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on 11 November 2013 [Saeed Qaq/Apaimages ]

In the southern West Bank city of Hebron, meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians performed Eid prayers at the Ibrahimi Mosque, which the Israeli authorities opened to Palestinian worshipers.

And in the blockaded Gaza Strip, Ahmed Bahar, first deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, called on rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas to achieve “national reconciliation” based on “Palestinian rights and resistance”.

In an Eid sermon delivered in Gaza City’s Al-Saraya Square, Bahar asserted: “Reconciliation is a national and humanitarian obligation. We want reconciliation based on inalienable Palestinian rights and on the ongoing resistance project.”

#EidInRamallah

Hamas and Fatah have remained bitter rivals since 2007, when the former wrested the Gaza Strip from the latter after several days of bloody street fighting.

In 2014, the rival movements, which currently govern Gaza and the West Bank respectively, agreed in principle to establish a unity government.

The so-called “unity government” later set up in Ramallah, however, has yet to assume a governing role in Gaza due to outstanding political and ideological differences between the two movements.

The four-day Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, is considered one of the most important holidays in the Muslim calendar.

People attend a parade on the eve of Muslim sacrificial festival “Eid al-Adha” in Ramallah, West Bank on August 31, 2017.

Muslims gather to perform the Eid Al Adha prayer at Es-Saraya Square in Gaza City, Gaza on September 1, 2017. ( Mustafa Hassona – Anadolu Agency )

Muslims gather to perform the Eid Al Adha prayer at Es-Saraya Square in Gaza City, Gaza on September 1, 2017. ( Mustafa Hassona – Anadolu Agency )

Egyptian Muslims perform the Eid Al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) prayer at Amr bin As Mosque in Cairo, Egypt on September 1, 2017. ( Mostafa El Shemy – Anadolu Agency )

Muslims gather to perform the Eid Al-Adha prayer at Martyrs Square in Tripoli, Libya on September 01, 2017. ( Hazem Turkia – Anadolu Agency )

Sheep on sale are seen at a livestock market on the eve of Muslim sacrificial festival “Eid al-Adha” in Ankara, Turkey on 31 August, 2017 [Raşit Aydoğan/Anadolu Agency]

Sacrificial sheep at a livestock market set up for the Muslims’ sacrificial festival Eid al-Adha in Eastern Ghouta which has been under Bashar al-Assad regime’s blockade for 6 years, in Damascus, Syria on 31 August, 2017 [Anas Damashqy/Anadolu Agency]

Sacrificial sheep at a livestock market set up for the Muslims’ sacrificial festival Eid al-Adha in Eastern Ghouta which has been under Bashar al-Assad regime’s blockade for 6 years, in Damascus, Syria on 31 August, 2017 [Anas Damashqy/Anadolu Agency]

A livestock market is disinfected by the members of Capital Development Authority (CDA) ahead of Eid al-Adha, also called as Feast of the Sacrifice, the second of two religious holidays celebrated by Muslims worldwide each year, in Islamabad, Pakistan on 30 August, 2017 [Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency]