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Mahmoud Abbas: Palestinians wish to live like other peoples

Arab World Materials 6 October 2011 16:30 (UTC +04:00)
Palestinians wish to live like other peoples, in freedom and dignity, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sated in his speech at the autumn session of the parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Mahmoud Abbas: Palestinians wish to live like other peoples

France, Strasburg, Oct. 6 / Trend , A.Maharramli /

Palestinians wish to live like other peoples, in freedom and dignity, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sated in his speech at the autumn session of the parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

Abbas said that earlier he asked the UN Secretary General to accept the accession of the state of Palestine as a full member of this international organisation.

"Our Palestinian people have been waiting impatiently since that date for implementation of that agreement, but sadly in vain. How much longer must they wait?" he said. "We have seized every opportunity to reach a solution through negotiation, we accepted unreservedly the principle of the road map, despite the observations we had about it, but we came up against the prevarication of the Israeli government to negotiate on this basis.

Abbas said Palestine entered into those negotiations with an open heart, and sincere intentions. "However we came up against the prevarication of the government of Mr Netanyahu to negotiate seriously on permanent status issues, insofar as they took advantage of the beginning of the negotiations to embark upon unprecedented intensification of their settlement activity in Jerusalem and other areas in the occupied West Bank," he said.

"We are convinced of the need for a halt to the settlement activity as it is one of the necessary conditions for resuming the peace process. This is not a prerequisite but an obligation laid down in the road map, and the peace process cannot go ahead if it is built solely on compliance by the Palestinians with their obligations, while Israel flouts all hers.'

Despite the Israeli obstacles, Abbas said, the Palestinian Authority has in recent years worked hard to implement an intensive programme aimed at promoting and strengthening a culture of peace, justice, democracy to improve the readiness of Palestinian institutions and prepare them for independence.

This programme has been completely successful in upgrading the performance of the Palestinian institutions to a higher level, which is necessary for administering a successful state.

Abbas said Europe has invested a great deal of effort and money in supporting the construction of Palestinian institutions and has given our people considerable aid which it will remember with gratitude and appreciation.

"We also very much appreciate and are proud of the resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly this past Tuesday calling on the six Council of Europe member states which are members of the Security Council to support Palestine's request to become a full member of the United Nations.

Thanks to the appreciated support we have received from the Arab and friendly countries, especially the countries of Europe, we have implemented a number of infrastructure projects, focusing in particular on developing the health services and with special attention to rural and marginalised areas. We have worked and shall continue to work on strengthening judicial authority, the rule of law and maintaining the security and dignity of our citizens," he noted.

Concluding his speech, Abbas said "We have come here to ask for this light for our state. This is our legitimate right guaranteed to us by international law."

"We wish to protect both the Palestinian and Israeli people from this occupation and colonisation which are destroying the future of both peoples. They have to choose between colonisation and peace. We have chosen peace," he sated.

Edited by G.Dadashova

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