President Obama did it. Prime Minister Netanyahu did it. And on Monday, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Faya’d will do it. “It” is to deliver a major policy speech in a university setting. Faya’d has chosen Al Quds University as his venue but, notably, its Abu Dis campus rather than the university’s main campus in Ramallah.
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Abu Dis is immediately east of the Jerusalem municipal boundary and is symbolic of Palestinian aspirations to make Jerusalem the capital of the Palestinian state when it is formed. Most of the Palestinian Authority’s offices pertaining to Jerusalem are located in Abu Dis. By speaking from there, Faya’d is making a clear and unambiguous reference to Palestinian statehood and to Jerusalem. The Israelis have prevented many events sponsored by the Palestinian Authority and purposely planned for those that do occur to be held in venues fully inside the Jerusalem municipal boundaries of Jerusalem.