President Mahmoud Abbas expressed hope that the UN would act on its resolution calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory…reports Asian Lite News
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas emphasized that those who believe peace can be achieved in the Middle East without the Palestinian people enjoying their full rights are mistaken.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly, he criticised Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, stating, “It violates the principles of international law and legitimacy, while it races against time to change the historical, geographical, and demographic reality on the ground. This is aimed at perpetuating the occupation and entrenching apartheid,” the Arab News reported.
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Abbas expressed hope that the UN would act on its resolution calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. He stressed the importance of realizing the independence of a fully sovereign Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the borders of June 4, 1967.
He also accused Israel of continuing to attack Palestinians, and he condemned the actions of the Israeli army and settlers, describing them as intimidating and deadly. He further accused them of destroying homes, confiscating resources, and stealing Palestinian money.
“My message today to Israelis is that this occupation will not last regardless of their ambitions, because the Palestinian people are remaining on their land, which they have inhabited for 1000’s of yrs. generation after generation & if anyone must leave it must be the occupiers.”
Abbas drew attention to Israel’s actions against Islamic and Christian holy sites, particularly the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which international legitimacy has recognized as an exclusive place of worship for Muslims.”
He added that Israel is digging tunnels under and around the mosque, threatening its full or partial collapse, “which would lead to an explosion with untold consequences,” the Arab News reported.
He urged the international community to assume its responsibilities in preserving the historic and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites.
He also requested an international peace conference in which all countries concerned with achieving peace in the Middle East would participate.
“I ask your esteemed organization and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to call for and undertake the necessary arrangements to convene this peace conference, which may be the last opportunity to salvage the two-state solution and to prevent the situation from deteriorating more seriously, and threatening the security and stability of our region and the entire world,” Abbas said.
Abbas also appealed to the states that have not yet recognised the state of Palestine to do so immediately. “I call for the state of Palestine to be admitted to full membership in the United Nations,” he said.
“There are two states that the entire world is talking about: Israel and Palestine. But only Israel is recognized. Why not Palestine?
“I can neither understand nor accept that some states …are reluctant to recognize the state of Palestine, which the UN has accepted as an observer state.
“These same states confirm every day that they support the two-state solution. But they recognize only one of these states, namely Israel. Why?,” Abbas was quoted as saying.
Abbas also paid tribute to “martyrs, our brave prisoners, and our heroic injured people.” “I say to everyone, a right is never lost when there is a demand behind it,” he added.
Last week, the Israeli military had launched air raids on Gaza after clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli police at the border wounded at least 12 Palestinians.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that the aircraft struck a military post belonging to Hamas, the Islamist group ruling Gaza, after a “violent riot” broke out at the border between Israel and the coastal enclave.
During the standoff, explosive devices and grenades were thrown across the border fence toward IDF soldiers, leading the Israeli soldiers to use riot dispersal measures at the Palestinians, the IDF added.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry earlier said that at least 12 Palestinians were wounded by dispersal means and even live bullets fired by the Israeli soldiers.
Palestinian security sources told Xinhua that the clash took place between hundreds of young Palestinians rallying to voice solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
On Friday, a Palestinian rally held to denounce Israel’s settlement expansion grew to a clash with Israeli soldiers in the village of Qaryut, northern West Bank, leaving four Palestinians wounded by rubber bullets fired to disperse them, according to a statement issued by the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
Gaza and the West Bank have witnessed unabated tensions between Palestinians and Israelis this year amid long-stalled peace talks.
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