 |
| President Mahmoud Abbas |
|
|
BPNIC,
November 2007
Download Statement in PDF (PDF,
117K)
Download
the Joint Understanding on Negotiations after the Conference
in PDF (PDF, 109K)
Statement by His Excellency Mr. Mahmoud Abbas
Chairman of the Executive Committee
of the Palestine Liberation Organization
President of the Palestinian National Authority
Annapolis Conference
United States of America, Annapolis
November 27th, 2007
In the Name of God, the Most Gracious Most Merciful,
President Bush, Prime Minister Olmert
Ministers and Representatives of Participating States,
Distinguished Guests, Peace and the Grace of God be Upon
You,
Allow me Mr. President to thank you in my capacity as
Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole
representative of the Palestinian people, and on behalf of
the Palestinian people, for inviting us to this
international conference. This conference symbolizes the
crystallization of the entire world’s will in its march
towards achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace in our
region and in bringing long-anticipated justice to our
country where oppression, wars, occupation and violence have
prevailed in the previous decades.
Today, Your Excellency, you stress the need to make the most
difficult choice—the choice of making peace and ending a
dark era marked by hatred. It is an era for which the
peoples of the region have paid a dear price with the lives
of its youth, the future of subsequent generations and the
prosperity, advancement and liberty of millions of us all.
Therefore, I thank you Mr. President. By calling this
historic conference, you have sent a very clear and strong
message to the peoples of the entire Middle East, who now
watch with great hope as well as tremendous fear of losing
yet another opportunity. The intent of your letter of
invitation is not obscure: It expresses your personal
commitment and the commitment of your great nation to
attaching the highest priority to negotiations to achieve a
long-awaited peace between both Palestinians and Israelis
and the broader Arab world and Israel. We hope that this
will be the culmination of your legacy for the world—a world
more free of violence, persecution and fanaticism.
I must commend you, Your Excellency, on choosing this
gorgeous city of Annapolis as the site for the conference.
In addition to its beauty, Annapolis symbolizes liberty, the
most exalted value of all. Freedom, for Palestinians is
perhaps the most evocative word—the word that captures the
collective hope of Palestinians and their aspiration for
future generations. It is their sun and the light of their
future. It is the last word of their martyrs and victims and
the daily hymns of their prisoners.
I would also like to express my deep gratitude to Secretary
Rice and her team. Without their persistence and
perseverance—and without their ability to grasp all aspects
of the conflict in our region—we would not have been able to
gather here today. Secretary Rice took important strides in
her quest to emphasize that the path to peace through
negotiations is the only path— and that this path is
irreversible.
I must also stress that the exceptionally broad
participation of our brothers and sisters from Arab and
Islamic countries, the Quartet, the G8 and the Permanent
members of the United Nations, in addition to many European
and Asian countries, as well as members from the
Non-Alliance block and the African continent, in a
conference unique in the conflict’s history is a driving
force that helps imbue the conference with added legitimacy.
This broad participation also demonstrates strong support
for Palestinian and Israeli negotiators to persevere in
their quest to reach the Two-State solution, which is based
on ending the occupation and establishing a sovereign State
of Palestine living side by side with the State of Israel by
resolving all of the permanent status issues in the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the broader Arab-Israeli
conflict, which will prove indispensable to forging peaceful
and normal relations in the region. I am proud of this broad
Arab and Muslim contribution and the broad international
participation because it shows the support of sister
countries for the Palestinian people and their leadership to
establish peace. Such support endorses our approach, which
calls for an historic and balanced settlement that will
ensure peace and security for our independent state, for
Israel and for the entire region.
The Arab and Islamic presence also demonstrates that the
Arab Peace Initiative was never a move without a definite
goal but rather a courageous strategic choice aimed at
changing the nature of relations in the region and beginning
anew. This historic Arab and Islamic shift and quest for a
regional peace should now be a similar willingness to engage
by all as it will lead to ending the occupation in all the
Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, including East
Jerusalem, as well as the Golan Heights and parts of Lebanon
and as it will also lead to resolving all the other
permanent status issues. Chief among these is the plight of
Palestinian refugees which must be addressed
holistically—that is, in its political, human, and
individual dimensions in accordance with UNGA resolution
194, as emphasized in the Arab Peace Initiative, and with
the participation of sister Arab countries who have borne
the heavy burden of hosting the refugees for decades.
It is no exaggeration to say, Your Excellency, that today
marks a juncture in the history of our region—a juncture
between two eras: The Pre-Annapolis era and its aftermath.
In other words, the exceptional opportunity that the Arab,
Islamic and international presence brings today coupled with
overwhelming Palestinian and Israeli public opinion in
support of Annapolis, must be seized in order to be a
launching pad for a negotiations process. The possibilities
offered by today’s conference must not be wasted.
This window of opportunity might never open again and if it
does, it might never claim the same consensus or momentum.
Mr. President, What we face today is not only the challenge
of peace but also a test of the credibility of all involved:
The credibility of the United States of America, members of
the Quartet, the entire international community, Israel, the
PLO and the Palestinian National Authority, as well as the
Arab and Islamic group. It is a test that will draw deep
marks in the future of the region and the relations among
its peoples on the one hand and on the international forces
that care about the region’s peace and security on the
other.
With this outlook, we come to Annapolis today. We therefore
recognize the weight of responsibility upon our shoulders
and the burden that we will have to bear. We recognize, and
I believe that you share our opinion, that the absence of
hope and the infiltration of desperation into the hearts of
peoples is what feeds extremism. It is therefore our joint
duty to allow for real hope to thrive. This way, we hope
that with your full support and involvement we might achieve
a complete transformation and that a genuine peace can be
achieved soon, before the end of your term, Mr. President.
Tomorrow, we embark on a serious and comprehensive
negotiations process on all the permanent status issues
including Jerusalem, refugees, borders, settlements,
security, and water, as well as others. We must support such
negotiations with tangible and direct steps on the ground,
which will be taken as proof of having embarked on an
irreversible track towards a negotiated, comprehensive and
full peace. Such steps must involve freezing all settlement
activities including natural growth, reopening institutions
in Jerusalem, removing settlement outposts, removing
checkpoints, releasing prisoners and facilitating the
mission of the Palestinian Authority in restoring law and
order.
With all frankness and without any hesitation, I have to
defend the right of my people to open their eyes to a new
dawn free of occupation, settlements, apartheid walls,
prisons full of prisoners, targeted assassinations, and the
siege of checkpoints around villages and cities. I look
forward, Your Excellency, to the day when our prisoners are
free and to the day when they can assume their roles in
supporting peace and building their homeland and state. It
is also my duty to say that the destiny of Jerusalem is a
key issue in any peace treaty we reach.
We want East Jerusalem to be our capital—a capital where we
will have open relations with West Jerusalem and where we
will guarantee for believers of all religions the freedom to
practice their rituals and to have access to the holy sites
without discrimination and in accordance with international
humanitarian law.
In this context, I would like to emphasize that we will
continue to carry out our responsibilities in accordance
with the Roadmap in fighting lawlessness, violence and
terrorism and in restoring law and order. The government of
the PA is working tirelessly in extremely difficult
conditions to achieve this noble cause. We do this for our
own people because we must, not because it is a political
requirement imposed upon us in previous accords or the
Roadmap.
Our people clearly understand the difference between the
threat posed by terrorism versus using terrorism as a
pretext to maintain an intolerable situation. Our civil,
security and economic institutions must be given the
opportunity to function and this process must be sponsored
by the international community until our authority and
government are able to fully assume their responsibilities.
I must also stress that our determination to end occupation
stems from our vision that by doing so we destroy one of the
most important excuses for terrorism in our region and in
the world. I say this without undermining the necessity to
fight terrorism regardless of time, conditions or source
because it is a danger that threatens the future of all
peoples and can doom civilization and destroy its
accomplishments.
Here, I would like to praise Mr. Tony Blair for his
distinctive and meticulous role in building Palestinian
institutions and promoting major economic projects to
improve the conditions of daily life and consequently
prospects of peace. He is amazing in presenting creative
ideas that contribute to inspire political movement and
promote security. In this regard, the role of the European
Union, Japan and our Arab brothers who provide ongoing
support for economic projects and institution building is
also highly appreciated.
Mr. President,
I want to use this opportunity to speak to every mind, heart
and conscience of every Israeli citizen, based on my full
recognition that without undermining the importance of
international and regional backing, the determining element
for making peace and sustaining it are the public opinions
in Palestine and in Israel and the commitment of their
legitimate leaderships.
I would like to begin by saying that in spite of our
differences over some of the most difficult issues in the
Conflict, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has shown a desire for
peace that I felt during our bilateral meetings. This desire
for peace has genuinely contributed to our reaching this
important step that we inaugurate today. Mr. Prime Minister,
I would like to continue working closely with you until we
are able to complete this historic long-awaited mission
together. It is essential that each one of us uses his
weight, experience and determination to overcome the
difficulties that will face us and to bridge the gaps
between our two positions so that we can achieve a
resolution. This is how we will end occupation and long
years of suffering for our refugees; this is how we will
ensure neighborly relations, economic cooperation and
people-to-people relations, all of which are the strongest
guarantees for a sustainable peace.
I would also like to speak to the citizens of Israel on
this exceptional occasion to tell them:
Our neighbors on this small piece of land, neither you nor
we are begging for peace from one another. Peace is a common
interest of yours and ours. Peace and freedom are our rights
just as peace and security are your rights and ours.
It is time that the cycle of bloodshed, violence and
occupation end. It is time to look into the future with
confidence and hope. It is time for this aching land that is
called the land of love and peace to live up to its name.
Peace is not impossible if we have the will and the good
intentions and when each side realizes its rights.
He who says that making peace between Palestinians and
Israelis is impossible wants only to prolong the duration of
conflict and to propel it into the abyss of the unknown.
This unknown is unfortunately very known to us: it is more
decades of bloodshed, after which we will not arrive to a
solution different from what is offered today—the contours
and the essence of which is known to each one of us. The
continuation of the conflict might also lead to the death of
the idea of peace in our minds, hearts and consciousness.
Peace is possible. It requires, however, a common effort to
achieve it and to sustain it. Today we extend our hands to
you as equals and the world is our witness and support. We
must not lose this opportunity that might never be repeated.
Let us make the peace of the brave and guard it for the sake
of both our children and yours.
To our friends all over the world: members of the
Quartet, participants in this conference, and other
countries and nations who are not present here today who
supported us in the past and who continue to be willing to
help us,
I would like to tell you that our people will not forget
your support under the most difficult conditions. We are
looking forward to your continued political presence with us
after the conference is over to ensure the Israeli-
Palestinian negotiations process achieves its goals. We hope
that the work of this conference will be enhanced by the
success of the Paris Economic conference that will be held
in a few weeks.
The continuation of the negotiations and their success is
the real key to changing the face of the entire region. The
Almighty God says in the Holy Quran: O Ye who believe! Come
all of you into peace and follow not the footsteps of the
devil. He is an open enemy for you. Al-Baqra 208
And if they incline to peace, incline also to it, and trust
in Allah. He is the hearer, the knower. Al-Anfal 61.
I also would like to recall what President John F. Kennedy
said: "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never
fear to negotiate."
To my Palestinian people, to all Palestinians in Gaza,
Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the refugee camps in the
Diaspora,
I would like to share these words with you: I recognize that
each and every one of you has their personal pain and
special tragedy stemming from this conflict and years of al-Nakbeh
and bitter occupation. Do not lose confidence or hope. The
entire world is extending their hands to us to help end the
years of our everlasting Nakbeh. The world is trying to help
us end the historic injustice that was inflicted on our two
peoples. We will be ready as individuals and as a people to
overcome the pain and tragedy when we reach a settlement
that will give us rights that are equal to people elsewhere
on this world: the rights to independence and
self-determination.
And to Palestinian mothers who are awaiting the return of
their jailed sons; to the children who are dreaming of a new
life and a prosperous and more peaceful future; to our brave
prisoners and to all of my sons and daughters wherever you
are:
Have faith in tomorrow and the future because an independent
Palestine is coming. This is the promise of the entire world
to you today. Trust that the dawn is coming.
To my people and family in the Gaza Strip:
You are in my heart and the hours of darkness will vanish
before your determination does and our determination to the
unity of our people in the West Bank and Gaza as a unified
and unbreakable geographic and political entity will
overcome.
Your suffering will end. Justice and peace will prevail.
Mr. President,
I would like to end with a quote from President Abraham
Lincoln, which he wrote during one of the most difficult
moments in American history: “Let us strive on to finish the
work we are in, to do all that we may achieve and cherish a
just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all
nations.”
Thank you Mr. President and Peace and blessings of God be
upon you.
|
