ALGIERS, Wednesday, November 2, 2022 (WAFA0 – President Mahmoud Abbas today called on the 31st Arab Summit currently in session in the Algerian capital to form two Arab ministerial committees to act at the international level to support the State of Palestine politically and legally.
“We look forward to your support by issuing a decision at the summit to form an Arab ministerial committee to act at the international level, to expose the practices of the Israeli occupation authorities, to explain our Arab narrative, because our narrative is completely absent in the West, where the Zionist narrative prevails, the implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative, and the attainment of more recognition by European countries of the State of Palestine, and obtaining full membership in the United Nations after we requested this 11 years ago and were unable to obtain it,” the President told his Arab counterparts.
“We also look forward to your support for the formation of a legal committee to follow up on the crimes committed against the Palestinian people as a result of the British government’s issuance of the Balfour Declaration in 1917. We were wronged by Britain and America by issuing this declaration that gives those who do not own to those who do not deserve, as well as its Mandate, in cooperation with the United States, and the repercussions of that on the Palestinian people, and Israel’s perpetration of more than 50 massacres during and after the Nakba of 1948, 50 massacres committed in 50 towns, villages and cities, all of which are now documented in Israel’s records and well known,” added the President.
He said that “Israel, by its insistence on undermining the two-state solution, violating international law and the agreements signed with it, and its unilateral measures, left us with no choice but to reconsider the entire existing relationship with it, implement the decisions of the Palestinian National Council, go to international courts, and join more international organizations to protect the rights of our people.”
President Abbas called for activating the decisions of previous Arab summits regarding financial support for the Palestinian budget and activating the Arab safety net that was previously approved, especially since Israel is withholding Palestinian funds, stressing the importance of implementing the decisions of the Economic and Social Council on providing support to the city of Jerusalem and the steadfastness of its people.
He also called for exerting every possible and necessary effort to make the Al-Quds Conference, which will be held early next year at the headquarters of the League of Arab States in Cairo, a success.
The President called on the Arab summit to urge Al-Azhar, the Vatican, and Islamic and Christian religious bodies, institutions and references, to continue carrying out their duties towards Jerusalem and its sanctities, and to adopt a clear road map on how to achieve this as a legitimate obligation and an inevitable political necessity.
He concluded his speech by calling on the Arab leaders and people to take a firm stand in support of Jerusalem and its Muslim and Christian holy places.
Following are the main excerpts from the speech of President Abbas at the Arab Summit:
“The Palestinian people, 74 years after their Nakba (catastrophe), are still suffering from hardships of displacement and occupation, despite their acceptance of the international resolutions and references. However, the Israeli occupation authorities insist on undermining the two-state solution, violating international law and the agreements signed with it, and acting as a state above the law, relying on international silence, and the absence of accountability.
“Today, the Palestinian people are facing extremely difficult and delicate conditions as a result of the continuation of the occupation authorities in imposing a fait accompli policy through settlements and settler terrorism, theft of land, displacing its owners, demolishing their homes, destroying and burning fields, withholding funds, issuing racist laws, the unjust siege of the Gaza Strip, and the incursions into Palestinian cities, villages, and camps, and their siege of Nablus, Jenin, neighborhoods and towns of Jerusalem, and the field executions, arrests, and withholding of the bodies of martyrs, which is something no one but Israel does in the world, violating the historical status quo of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher while desecrating their sanctity, and the seizure of a part of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, and other crimes that defy international law before the eyes of all countries, especially the great powers that keep silent, sponsor and support these violations.
“We welcome, in this context, the report issued recently by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry of the Human Rights Council, which condemns these Israeli policies and practices.
“I must tell you, frankly, that Israel, the occupying power, which is systematically destroying the two-state solution, disavowing the agreements signed with it, and continuing its unilateral practices, has left us no choice but to reconsider the entire existing relationship with it. We will reconsider all relations with Israel as long as it does not respect anything and does not take anything into consideration, as well as implementing the decisions of the Palestinian National Council, which were taken seven years ago, as well as going to international courts and joining more international organizations to protect the rights of our people.
“We look forward to your support by issuing a decision at the summit to form an Arab ministerial committee to act at the international level, to expose the practices of the Israeli occupation authorities, to explain our Arab narrative, because our narrative is completely absent in the West, where the Zionist narrative prevails, the implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative, and the attainment of more recognition by European countries of the State of Palestine, and obtaining full membership in the United Nations after we requested this 11 years ago and were unable to obtain it. With your support, with your efforts, we can obtain full membership in the United Nations. Also work to prevent the moving of embassies of countries to Jerusalem, to hold an international peace conference on the basis of international legitimacy, and to provide international protection for our Palestinian people since we do not enjoy any protection as Israel bullies us and no one deters it or tells it enough, and implement Security Council Resolution 2334, which was issued under American auspices in 2016, and when Trump came to power, he immediately canceled it, although America was the one who supported and endorsed this resolution from A to Z, as well as Resolutions 181 and 194, and as I said in a previous speech: there are 754 resolutions issued by the General Assembly of the United Nations, of which not a single resolution has been implemented. I demand the implementation of Resolution 181 which partitioned Palestine and Resolution 194 which gives refugees the right of return or compensation. These two resolutions are also the two resolutions that were conditions for Israel’s acceptance of membership in the United Nations, which it did not abide by them when it submitted the application to be a member of the United Nations. The United Nations refused and said that you must accept and abide by the implementation of these two resolutions and Moshe Sharett wrote a pledge of commitment and implementation and since that day nothing happened and the United States supports the Israeli position.
“We also look forward to your support for the formation of a legal committee to follow up on the crimes committed against the Palestinian people as a result of the British government’s issuance of the Balfour Declaration in 1917. We were wronged by Britain and America by issuing this declaration that gives those who do not own to those who do not deserve, as well as its Mandate, in cooperation with the United States, and the repercussions of that on the Palestinian people, and Israel’s perpetration of more than 50 massacres during and after the Nakba of 1948, 50 massacres committed in 50 towns, villages and cities, all of which are now documented in Israel’s records and well known. We want our rights and we want Israel to recognize these crimes and admit to them and to provide compensation, as is the case elsewhere in the world, and the subsequent destruction and looting of more than 500 Palestinian villages, all of which have been wiped out. Crimes do not have a statute of limitations, so we call on all parties that committed these crimes, and helped commit them, to admit what they have committed, apologize for them, make reparation for the damage and pay compensation to the Palestinian people. Today marks 105 years since the ill-fated Balfour Declaration, the repercussions of which continue to this day.
“Your Palestinian people, while facing the occupier and its racist policies with steadfastness and resilience, are waiting for their brothers to continue their support today by activating the decisions of previous Arab summits regarding financial support for the budget of the State of Palestine, and activating the Arab safety net that was previously approved, especially since Israel is withholding Palestinian funds, – it collects funds for us and holds them – while stressing the importance of implementing the decisions of the Economic and Social Council on providing support to the city of Jerusalem and the steadfastness of its people, in an effective way, and it is being subjected today to the fiercest Israeli campaign to Judaize it. They want to Judaize Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa and rebuild the alleged temple which no trace of it was found and change its Palestinian, Arab and Islamic character, knowing that the occupation authorities and the organizations supporting them have spent tens of billions of dollars over the past years in order to Judaize Jerusalem. Al-Aqsa and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher will be Judaized.”
Source: Palestine News & Info Agency