Abbas at Arab Summit : If Israel Wants Peace, It Should End Its Occupation
The Dead Sea, 1 Rajab 1438/29 March 2017 (MINA) – President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that if Israel wants peace and security, it should end its occupation of the Palestinian land.
Addressing the 28th Arab Summit convening at the Dead Sea in Jordan, Abbas said that once Israel does that, its people will live in peace, WAFA reported.
“If Israel wants to be a partner for peace in the region and live in security and peace alongside its neighbors, it should give up the notion that security comes with appropriating more land and it should end its occupation and stop denying our Palestinian people their right for freedom and independence on their own land. Then it will win the respect of its neighbors and its people will reap the benefits of peace, as came in the Arab Peace Initiative,” he said.
He warned Israel against turning the present conflict from a political one to religious, which could have dire consequences on the entire region.
“We are working to end the (Israeli) occupation and to achieve the goals of our people in freedom and independence through political and diplomatic means,” he said.
The two-state solution that will lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders is the only way to achieve peace, said Abbas, stressing that the Arab Peace Initiative adopted at the 2002 Arab summit in Beirut, should be implemented as is without any changes.
He urged the Arab leaders to continue supporting the Palestinian people both politically and financially to help them remain steadfast in their homeland, thanking those who have continued to do so.
He also urged support for Jerusalem to help it overcome Israeli schemes to change its Arab and Muslim character and help its Palestinian Arab population to remain steadfast in their city.
He called on the Arab leaders to help make 2017 a year to put the Palestinian issue on a road toward ending the Israeli occupation and to win more recognition of Palestine, particularly from the governments that support the two-state solution “because their recognition would preserve and keep this option before it is too late.”
The infamous Balfour Declaration
Abbas also urged the Arab leaders to pressure Britain against holding celebrations marking 100 years for the infamous Balfour Declaration, when then British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour promised Europe’s Jews a homeland in Palestine with total disregard to its indigenous Palestinian Arab population.
“Instead of celebrating the Balfour Declaration,” said Abbas, “Britain should cancel all celebrations on this occasion and apologize to the Palestinian people for this historic injustice done against them, and also recognize the State of Palestine.”
He also urged the Arab governments to strengthen their political and economic relations and ties with the African countries for what is good for all Arab and African people.(T/R04/RS5)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
