YouSaid · the spoken record

Mahmoud ABBAS

lines on the record: 429
first: 2006-09-24
most recent: 2023-09-24
sittings or episodes: 18
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Some 97 per cent of the population of Palestine at that time were Palestinians, who were disregarded. Again, Palestine at that time was inhabited by the Palestinian people and was among the most progressive and prosperous countries in the region. It should not have been colonized or placed under the mandate of a great Power. The British Government has not taken a single step to date to correct this historical injustice against our people. It should apologize, provide us with reparations and recognize the State of Palestine. We talked to its representatives at length and so far they have not provided a response. What is even worse is that in November they want to celebrate the centenary of this crime against our people.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The Hamas Government has been cancelled, and there is now a commitment to the National Unity Government, which is a Government of national consensus, which will enable it to exercise its authority in the Gaza Strip and allow for general elections to be held. This agreement has met with our satisfaction. Next week, our Government is going to the Gaza Strip to assume its responsibilities. We wish the Government every success. In my address to the General Assembly last year, I appealed to the Government of the United Kingdom to rectify the grave injustice it inflicted upon the Palestinian people when, in 1917, it issued the Balfour Declaration, promising Jews a national homeland in Palestine, despite the fact that Palestine was inhabited by the Palestinian people.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Since that time, we have provided all forms of support on our own to our people in Gaza, who are gravely suffering from the cruel Israeli blockade. We have repeatedly affirmed that no one is more aware of the interests of our people in Gaza Strip than we are. We are eager to see to the interests of the people in Gaza served. We have said that there will be no State in Gaza alone and there will be no Palestinian State without the Gaza Strip. A State in Gaza alone is a false dream, and our State will be complete only when the Gaza Strip is part of it. I must express my relief at the agreement reached in Cairo as a result of Egyptian efforts. We are grateful for those efforts aimed at nullifying the measures taken by Hamas following the split with us, including the formation of a Government.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Judaism for us Palestinians, be they Christian or Muslim, will never be considered a threat. It is an Abrahamic religion, like Islam and Christianity. God Almighty tells us in the Qur’an that, in the name of God the Compassionate and the Merciful, we should not distinguish between his messengers. Indeed, all His messengers — Mohammed, Jesus and others — are equal. All these religions are equal, and we do not make distinctions between prophets or messengers. On this occasion, we congratulate the Jews on their new year. We would also like to congratulate Muslims for their new Hijri year starting tomorrow. This is proof of our desire for a rapprochement among religions. We have dutifully upheld our responsibilities towards our people in the Gaza Strip despite the split with Hamas that has been in place since 2007.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“But if the two-State solution were to be fall apart due to the establishment of a one-State reality with two systems — a system of apartheid — following the unchecked imposition of the occupation that our people and the international community reject, that would be a failure, and neither the international community nor we will have any other choice but to continue the struggle and demand full and equal rights for all inhabitants of historic Palestine. This is not a threat, but we are warning Israel of the realities and the consequences of its ongoing policies that are gravely undermining the two-State solution. What do the Israelis want? Even if they talk about other issues, we continue to choose the two-State solution. Our problem is with the Israeli colonial occupation, not with Judaism as a religion.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We will give the efforts being undertaken by President Donald Trump, the Quartet and the international community at large every chance to succeed so that a historic agreement or deal may be reached. We have heard that they are trying to strike a historic deal. We would like to thank them and hope that it will come to fruition soon. We stress the two-State solution, which would enable the State of Palestine to live side-by-side with the State of Israel in security and peace.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“On the other hand, we have called on the International Criminal Court, which is our right. If nobody wants to listen to us, then we will pursue all avenues to justice. We have called on the International Criminal Court to open an investigation and prosecute Israeli officials for their involvement in settlement activities and aggressions against our people. We will continue to pursue our accessions to international conventions, protocols and organizations, as Palestine has acquired observer status pursuant to resolution of 2012. I will convene the Palestinian National Council in the near future to operationalize a strategic review of these efforts. Palestinians, Arabs and the world as a whole have a choice as to whether to respect international law and implement the two-State solution based on the 1967 borders.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“As Palestinians, we cannot stand still in the face of that threat, which is targeting our national, political and social existence on our land and endangering regional and international peace and security. We will have to take steps or look for alternatives in order to preserve our national existence and maintain the prospects for peace and security. But any option we try will be peaceful. In such a situation, we have the right to seek alternatives that preserve our rights and protect our land and our people from a hardening system of the type of apartheid that ended in South Africa long ago but that continues to persist in Palestine. Is that acceptable? Can the world accept an apartheid regime in the twenty-first century in Palestine? Why, then, is there one?”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“However, since the situation has only deteriorated, owing to Israel’s insistence on pursuing its occupation, aggressive policies and unending violations of international law, we must once again call on Israel, as the occupying Power, to fully respect and uphold all the obligations that its occupation implies and bear the consequences. We cannot continue to be an Authority that has no authority or to allow the occupation to continue at no cost. We are fast approaching that point. If Israel does not want a two-State solution, if it does not want peace, let it assume its responsibilities and bear their consequences, because we will not bear those responsibilities for them. Today a two-State solution is in jeopardy.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Despite the ongoing occupation and its oppressive policies and practices, we have been working effectively to build the institutions of our State, which has been recognized by a majority — 138 of those present — of the States Members of the United Nations. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank all of the countries that have recognized the State of Palestine and have voted for upgrading its status at the United Nations. That is certainly helping to remedy the historic injustice that has befallen our people and showing support for the goal of peace between the Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East and around the world. I also stressed in my address to the Assembly last year that the status quo in the occupied territory of the State of Palestine is unsustainable.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Israel’s attempts to change the historic status quo in Al-Quds and particularly the status and integrity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque can be described only as playing with fire and an infringement on our responsibilities and those of our brother country Jordan. We are both responsible for the city. We have warned the Israeli Government about the implications of such an act of aggression and will hold it fully responsible for the consequences. We do not desire a religious war, which would be dangerous for everyone. Our conflict is political, not religious, so let us leave religious issues out of the equation.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We rejected that at the time and continue to do so, together with the entier international community, including the Security Council. The Security Council, the principal world authority on peace and security, has adopted numerous resolutions stating that such annexation processes are illegal. To whom should we turn? Since the Security Council and General Assembly resolutions are not being implemented, to whom should we turn? We have not chosen a path of terrorism or violence. Jerusalem is an occupied city. Israel’s decisions and practices there are null and void and entirely illegal. The same applies to all the Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We will therefore be compelled to undertake a comprehensive strategic review of the entire process. A commitment to peace by one side is never enough to achieve peace. Either we are free or not free. We have issued warnings in the past, and continue to do so today, about the Israeli policies aimed at entrenching the occupation and colonial facts on the ground in East Jerusalem. We have pointed out that those policies fuel religious animosity and could lead to a violent religious conflict. We have called on the Israeli Government to uphold the historic and legal status quo of the city’s holy sites. However, since its occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, the Israeli Government has repeatedly and unilaterally annexed Jerusalem. Jerusalem is occupied. It also decided to annex Golan, and did so.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We have called on the Israeli Prime Minister simply to affirm his commitment to a two- State solution and sit with us at the negotiation table to delineate the borders between Israel and the State of Palestine in order to open a path for meaningful talks on resolving all the other final status issues. Unfortunately, he rejected that offer. We have continued our genuine efforts to achieve a successful peace process, and Israel nonetheless continues to ignore its commitments and obstruct those efforts through its relentless settlement activities. There is no place left for the State of Palestine, and that is unacceptable both to us and to those here in this Hall. The fact is that Israel is rejecting a two-State solution, posing a real threat to Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Next, a French-led initiative for peace attempted to break the stalemate in the peace process and ensure a successful effort to salvage the peace process and a two-State solution. It led to the convening earlier this year in Paris of the Conference for Peace in the Middle East, which was attended by 70 States and four international organizations. Israel has rejected and boycotted all of those efforts. Besides those I have already mentioned, President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Xi Jinping of China have also launched initiatives for peace. The latest of those peace efforts — all of which we are grateful for — is being led by United States President Donald Trump. Where are those initiatives and why will Israel not accept them? For our part, we have also repeatedly tried to revive the peace process.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Together with other Arab and Islamic States, we have adopted the invaluable Arab Peace Initiative, aimed at resolving the Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflict. The Initiative states that upon Israel’s withdrawal from the Palestinian and Arab territories — the Golan and Shaba’a farmlands — occupied since 1967, the Arab and Islamic States will recognize Israel and normalize relations with it. What has been the Israeli response? Fifty-seven Arab and Islamic States have said that they are ready to recognize and normalize relations with Israel, but Israel is not interested. In 2003, there was also the 2003 Quartet road map for an Israeli-Palestinian peace, endorsed by the Security Council and accepted by Palestine. It, too, was rejected by the Israeli Government — so apparently Israel is above the law.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“There can be no doubt that draining the quagmire of the colonial occupation of our land and ending its unjust, oppressive and illegal practices against our people would have an enormous effect on the fight against terrorism, thereby depriving terrorist groups of one of the key rallying cries they exploit to promote their obscurantist ideas. We therefore reiterate that it is vitally urgent to end the Israeli occupation of our land, since it is an integral part of the efforts that we must all make to confront such groups. Palestinians oppose all internal and international terrorist organizations, whatever their nature, origins or character. We stand against international terrorism and we are fighting it. We have explored every avenue and exerted enormous efforts to achieve peace with our Israeli neighbours.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“It is therefore very strange to hear some of those who should be responsible for ending the occupation refer to it as a half-occupation, or an alleged occupation. What is meant by “alleged occupation”? For 50 years we have languished under the yoke of occupation, and now someone who is responsible says that this is an alleged occupation. That is unfair, wrong and unacceptable. Israel’s continuation of the occupation is an affront to the international community. The United Nations has a legal, political, moral and humanitarian obligation to end it and enable the Palestinian people to live in freedom and prosperity in their independent State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital and within the 4 June 1967 borders. That is the responsibility of the United Nations and the international community.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“While we continue to call — as does the international community — for an end to the Israeli occupation of our State’s territory, Israel incites trouble and makes false accusations, pretends that there is no Palestinian partner and imposes unreasonable, obstructive conditions. Israel is well aware, as we all are, that its occupation breeds provocations and violence. Its military occupation of our land has now lasted for more than half a century. Ten years ago, in a decision made by the United States, we agreed together to establish a tripartite committee to address the issue of incitement, made up of the United States, Palestine and Israel. The committee worked for some time but was eventually disbanded, and since then we have called for its revival, to no avail. Who is committing incitement now? And who is trying to maintain it?”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Since my address to the Assembly last year (see A/71/PV.14), when I urged us to make 2017 the year for ending the Israeli occupation of the territory of the State of Palestine, the Israeli Government has relentlessly pursued its settlement campaign on our land, in contravention of all international conventions and the relevant resolutions on the question of Palestine. It has also persisted in its flagrant disregard for reaching a 17-29395 7/29 two-State solution, resorting to delaying policies and tactics and devising pretexts to evade its responsibility for ending its occupation of the territory of the State of Palestine. Instead of addressing the underlying issues and resolving the root causes of the conflict, it has tried to divert international attention to secondary issues that in fact are caused by its colonial policies.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Twenty- four years have passed since the signing of the Oslo Accords, an interim agreement that set a five-year period for bringing an end to the Israeli occupation, giving hope to the Palestinian people that they would soon achieve independence within their State and peace between Palestinians and Israelis. What is left of that hope today? We recognized the State of Israel within the 1967 borders, but Israel’s continued refusal to do the same has called into question the mutual recognition that we signed in Oslo in 1993.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Our people will continue to open the door to peace and do all we can to grant our people freedom and independence. We will remain steadfast in our land, and we will work to prepare the future of the next generation. It is my hope that I will not have to deliver this same statement again next year. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that 2017 is the year when the occupation ends. Will the Assembly discharge that responsibility? I truly hope so.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“If the international community were to deliver on its ability to advance the rights of our people, ensure the exercise of those same rights and end the oppression and injustice imposed on our people for seven decades, that would surely present a unique opportunity for peace, stability and coexistence in our region and between the Palestinian and Israeli people. It would create a better future for the current generation and succeeding generations. It would be a beginning, a basis for ending extremism and violence in our region and the world. I hope, from the depths of my heart, that the Israeli occupation of our land will end, that we can defeat terrorism, that the current conflicts will be concluded and that peace will prevail in our region and around the world.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“I also appeal to members, as a follow-up to resolution 67/19, to adopt a draft resolution that will enable Palestine to submit and co-sponsor draft resolutions on subjects other than the question of Palestine and to support our efforts to enhance Palestine’s legal and political status by granting it additional responsibilities to chair committees and groups as we continue our quest for full membership in international organizations. Given all this, the international community is called upon, now more than ever, to exert all efforts to bring an end to the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine. As members are aware, this is the longest and the last occupation in contemporary history.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Moreover, we appeal to countries that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to do so. Those who believe in the two-State solution — and everyone speaks about the two-State solution — should recognize both States and not just one of them. I invite the General Assembly to mark this seventy- first session by declaring 2017 as the international year to end the Israeli occupation of our land. In June 2017 half a century will have elapsed since the abhorrent Israeli occupation began.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It is Israel’s breach of the agreements it has signed and its failure to comply with the obligations it has assumed that have caused the deadlock and stalemate in which we find ourselves. The State of Palestine, which was accorded the status of observer State in the United Nations with the support of 138 countries, is a State under occupation. The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization — the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people wherever they may be — acts on behalf of our people and as their Government. The Palestine National Council is the Parliament of the State of Palestine, as reflected in resolution 67/19. We have not lost hope yet. We expect the international community to shoulder its responsibilities. We call on countries that have acted against our people to rectify such injustices.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We continue our genuine, dedicated efforts to achieve Palestinian reconciliation with the formation of a national unity Government in accordance with the political platform of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections. We are committed to rebuilding Gaza, alleviating the hardships of our people and lifting the illegal blockade imposed on them. Our hand remains outstretched to those interested in peacebuilding. There is one outstanding question that we have to keep asking over and over again, namely, is there any leader in Israel, the occupying Power, who truly desires to make peace and abandon the mentality of hegemony, expansionism and colonization? Is there any Israeli leader who will recognize the rights of our people and end the historical injustice inflicted upon them?”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We commend the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to strengthen the foundations of legitimacy in Yemen. We support the efforts to confront and overcome terrorism, extremism, sectarianism and violence. I appeal to everyone to stand united against terrorism. Terrorism knows no religion. In that connection, I wish to reaffirm that there is no way to defeat terrorism and extremism and achieve security and stability in our region unless we end the Israeli occupation of Palestine and ensure the freedom and independence of the Palestinian people. Fighting terrorism and extremism begins with the ending of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“To reiterate, the Security Council is not discharging its responsibility to hold Israel accountable for its seizure of territory allotted to the Palestinian State under the partition resolution. I appeal to everyone to read resolution 181 (II) once again. We continue our efforts to promote a culture of peace among our people. We stand firmly against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We condemn terrorism regardless of who perpetrates it or where it is perpetrated. Our region has been the principal victim of terrorism, a scourge that it has endured for many years. We support the unity of people and respect for territorial integrity. We are in favour of reaching political solutions for the conflicts in Syria, Libya, Iraq and elsewhere.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Israeli forces seized more land than was allotted to Israel, constituting a grave breach of Articles 39, 41 and 42 of the Charter of the United Nations. In paragraph (c) of that resolution, the General Assembly requests that the Security Council “determine as a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression, in accordance with Article 39 of the Charter, any attempt to alter by force the settlement envisaged by this resolution”. Regrettably, however, the Security Council is not discharging its responsibility to hold Israel accountable for seizing territory allotted to the Palestinian State under the partition resolution. Over half of the Palestinian territory was taken by Israel.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“As we approach the 100th anniversary of that infamous Declaration, we would like to ask the British to draw the necessary lessons and shoulder their historical, legal, political, material and moral responsibilities for it, including an apology to the Palestinian people for the disasters, misery and injustice that it has created, and to act to rectify that historic catastrophe and remedy its consequences, including through recognition of the State of Palestine. That is the least Britain can do. In addition, since 1948, Israel has persisted in its contempt for international legitimacy by violating resolution 181 (II), known as the partition resolution, which called for the establishment of two States on the historic land of Palestine according to a specific partition plan.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“By the end of the coming year, 100 years will have passed since the Balfour Declaration; 70 since the Nakba of the Palestinian people; and 50 since Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Yes, 100 years have passed since the promulgation of the infamous Balfour Declaration, whereby Britain gave the land of Palestine to another people without any right, authority or consent from anyone. That paved the way for the Nakba and the Palestinian people’s dispossession and displacement from their land. As if that were not enough, the British mandate translated the Declaration into policies and measures that helped to perpetrate heinous crimes against a peaceful people in their own land, a people who had never attacked or taken part in a war against anyone.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“A historic reconciliation between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples requires that Israel acknowledge its responsibility for the Nakba that is still being inflicted on our people to this very day. Such an acknowledgement would open a new era of coexistence and serve to build bridges rather than walls. I believe that the Arab Peace Initiative embodies a reasonable, sensible solution. Yet Israel continues to insist on being selective, picking and choosing only parts of the Initiative, such as insisting on establishing relations with the Arab countries before ending its occupation of Palestine. That is simply a recipe for more conflict in the region. We will not accept it and neither will anyone else. The Arab Peace Initiative should be implemented in full, from A to Z, and Israel must understand that.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Israel should reciprocate with its own recognition of the State of Palestine and end its occupation of our land, so that the State of Palestine and the State of Israel can coexist alongside each other, in peace and security, as good neighbours, each within secure and recognized borders. There is no conflict between us and the Jewish religion and people. Our conflict is with the Israeli occupation of our land. We have full respect for the Jewish religion, which is a monotheistic one, just as we respect other religions, and in that regard we condemn the catastrophe of the Holocaust that befell the Jewish people in Europe during the Second World War. It was one of the most heinous crimes ever perpetrated against humankind.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We hope that every country in the world will support convening such a peace conference before the end of this year. Without an international peace conference and direct negotiations between us and the Israelis, how can we make peace or even speak about it? Instead of ensuring that Israel acknowledges the atrocities it continues to commit against our people, the Israeli Prime Minister has had the audacity to criticize Palestine’s statement at the Arab League Summit in Nouakchott, Mauritania, because it referred to the Balfour Declaration. I say to him today that our recognition in 1993 of the existence of the State of Israel, a recognition that continues to be valid, is not free of charge.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“If the United Nations cannot ensure our protection, who will? Today Israel continues its attempts to evade the possibility of an international conference for peace, an idea proposed by France and supported by most of the countries of the world. A ministerial meeting, in which 28 countries and three intergovernmental organizations participated, was held in Paris in June to prepare for the convening of such a conference. We continue to hope that holding such a conference can lead to the establishment of a mechanism and a defined time frame for ending the occupation, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy, the principle of land for peace and the Arab Peace Initiative — which, among other things, calls for a just and agreed-on solution for Palestinian refugees, in accordance with resolution 194 (III).”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“All of those Israeli policies, actions and measures are reasons for the failure of every international effort for the past 13 years, particularly those of the Quartet, in the same way that Israel has sabotaged the efforts of successive American Administrations over the decades. In that regard, I have to once again appeal to the United Nations to help provide international protection for the Palestinian people, who since 1967 have been suffering under occupation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in the Gaza Strip. I am very grateful in that regard to the Secretary-General and the members of the Security Council, who convened an Arria Formula meeting of the Council to explore the possibilities of international protection for our people, and I urge that such efforts continue.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“At the same time, Israel is preventing the Palestinians — the owners of the land — from using their land and prohibiting them from developing their economy in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and the Palestinian shores on the Dead Sea. It continues with its illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip, as well as with its illegal alteration of the identity and status of occupied East Jerusalem and its acts of aggression and provocation against our Christian and Muslim holy sites, especially the Al-Aqsa Mosque. That is playing with fire. I repeat, it is playing with fire. No one knows what may happen if those acts of aggression continue.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We will therefore continue to exert all efforts for the adoption of a Security Council resolution on the settlements and the terror perpetrated by the settlers. To that end, we are currently undertaking extensive consultations with the Arab countries and other friendly countries. We hope that no one will cast a veto against this draft resolution. The racial discrimination against the Palestinian people has become a daily reality as Israel continues to favour the Israeli settlers on our occupied land, including by granting them permits for residential construction, factories, economic projects and infrastructure, such as roads, electricity and water networks.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Israel’s disrespect and contemptuous policies have led to attempts to legalize the settlements and the settlers’ colonization of our occupied land since 1967 and even to the Israeli Prime Minister’s claim that the call for the cessation of settlements and their dismantlement constitutes ethnic cleansing. All such claims and attempts are null and void; they are clearly in grave breach of international law. So, who then is practising ethnic cleansing? In that regard, I am compelled to warn the General Assembly again that what the Israeli Government is doing in pursuit of its expansionist settlement plans will destroy whatever chance is left for the adoption of the two-State solution based on the 1967 borders. The settlements are illegal in every respect and in any form.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Yet, Israel renounced the agreements it signed and persists in its occupation and continues to expand its illegal settlements, thereby undermining the realization of the two-State solution on the basis of the 1967 borders. Does Israel want one State? None of the 12 Security Council resolutions condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory since 1967 has been implemented, and Israel therefore pursues its plans for the seizure of more Palestinian land in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with impunity. The violent actions of Israeli settlers have gone as far as the formation of terrorist groups that burn homes and kill entire families, destroy properties and uproot the trees that are the livelihood of Palestinian families.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Our people will never agree to forgo their national institutions and the other achievements that were won through great sacrifice, suffering and pain. We will preserve the independence of Palestinian decision-making. We will act to fulfil the aspirations of our people through political and diplomatic means, while relying on international law and the legitimacy of international resolutions via the United Nations and all international forums. We will seek to mobilize Arab and international efforts to that end. We will not accept the continuation of the status quo. The 1993 Oslo Accords were intended to end the occupation, to achieve an independent State of Palestine within five years.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It must cease all its settlement activities and acts of aggression against our cities, villages and refugee camps. It must cease its policies of collective punishment, its demolition of Palestinian homes, its extrajudicial executions and the arrest of our people. It must release our prisoners and detainees, all thousands of them, and cease its aggression and provocations against the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, for all these policies and practices prevent the creation of an environment in which peace can prevail in our region. How can anyone seeking peace commit such actions? In this regard, we reaffirm that we find the current situation unacceptable. We will never accept the humiliation of our people. We will never accept temporary or interim solutions.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“): I had hoped that I would not have to deliver this statement today, as would have been the case if the cause of my people had been genuinely heard and justly resolved and if hearts and minds had acted to lift my people from oppression. As everyone is aware, we accepted the primacy of international law and the resolutions of international legitimacy, and made a historic and immense sacrifice when the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, accepted the establishment of the State of Palestine based on the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. What more can be asked of us? We remain committed to the agreements reached with Israel in 1993. However, Israel must reciprocate and act forthwith to resolve all the final-status issues.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“I say to our neighbours, the sons and daughters of the Israeli people, that peace is in their interest and in our interest and in the interest of their future generations and our future generations. Maintaining a narrow viewpoint is unhelpful and destructive. Focusing only on oneself is unhelpful and destructive. It is my sincere hope that those neighbours will consider the dangerous reality on the ground and look to the future and accept for the Palestinian people what they accept for themselves. 30/54 15-29562 30/09/2015 A/70/PV.19 Then, they will find that the achievement of peace will be possible, and they will enjoy security, safety, peace and stability. These values are the aspirations that we also seek to realize for our Palestinian people.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Palestine will move forward in the defence of its people under occupation through all available legal and peaceful means, including as a High Contracting Party to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and a State party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Yes, Palestine is a State party to the International Criminal Court. Those who fear international law and international courts should stop committing crimes. We do not like having to seek justice from the International Criminal Court, but aggression forces us to do so. We will seek support from all international organizations, including the International Criminal Court. All that notwithstanding, my hand remains outstretched for the just peace that will guarantee my people’s rights, freedom and human dignity.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Given all that, why does Israel not recognize the State of Palestine? I must reiterate that the current situation is unsustainable. We shall start implementing the declaration I have just announced by legal means. We shall not resort to violence; we shall use peaceful and legal means to implement it. Either the Palestine National Authority will be a transitional power and move the Palestinian people from occupation to independence, or Israel must fully bear its responsibilities as the occupying Power. At the same time, and based on our commitment to the principles of international law, the State of Palestine will continue to accede to international conventions and to join organizations — all international organizations. That is our right and is fully in line with our status under international law.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The State of Palestine, based on the 4 June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, is a State under occupation. Yes, we are under occupation, just as many countries were during the Second World War. It should be noted that our State is recognized by 137 States, which is four times the number of States that recognized Israel at its foundation, and the right of our people to self-determination, freedom and independence is recognized globally as being inalienable and indisputable. I further recall resolution 67/19 of 2012, which accorded to Palestine observer State status and reaffirmed that the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization would be the interim Government of the State of Palestine and that the Palestine National Council would be the Palestinian Parliament of the State of Palestine.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“We therefore declare that we cannot continue to be bound by those agreements and that Israel must fully assume all its responsibilities as an occupying Power, because the status quo cannot continue and the decisions of the Palestinian Central Council last March are specific and binding. As long as Israel does not commit to the signed agreements and instead undermines them all, we, for our part, renounce our commitment to those agreements, and Israel must bear full responsibility for the situation. This is a decision taken by the Palestinian Parliament, and I affirm it right here and now. Our patience has run out. It seems that Israel is deaf to the truth. Israel will have to resume its role as an occupying Power and bear its responsibilities accordingly.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Those agreements have also been eroded by the measures taken by successive Israeli Governments, measures that have negated the transitional phase leading to the independence of our State. All these gross violations of the agreements have made the situation intolerable. Given that background, we declare that as long as Israel refuses to commit to the agreements it signed with us, thereby ensuring that we are a pro forma authority without real powers, and as long as Israel refuses to cease its settlement activities and to release the fourth group of Palestinian prisoners in accordance with our agreements, Israel leaves us no choice but to assert that we will not remain the only ones committed to the implementation of those agreements, while Israel continuously violates them.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)