Palestinian state will erase 1967 Arab defeat: Abbas
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
PALESTINIAN president Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday that creating a Palestinian state would wipe out the memory of the Arab defeat to Israel in 1967, in a speech marking 40 years since the war.
Palestinians are holding demonstrations to protest at the continued occupation of Arab land captured by Israel in the six-day war of June 1967.
"June 1967 went down in the Middle East and world history as a massive defeat inflicted by Israel on the Arabs," the Palestinian president declared in a televised speech.
"Despite all the difficulties, however, our revolt was equal to this defeat, the memory of which we hope will be erased by ending the occupation of Arab and Palestinian territory and by establishing our independent state."
Abbas said he still nurtured hope of seeing an independent Palestinian state despite a current stalemate in the peace process.
"The whole world agrees in unanimity that the birth of a Palestinian state is an inevitability and a fundamental element for regional and international stability."
In 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the Gaza Strip and Sinai peninsula from Egypt — an area more than three times bigger than the state of Israel at the time.
"Our people and our nation paid a big price for this heavy defeat," said Abbas, calling the war a "black date".
"We can say in total confidence that we have overcome defeat through revolt and therefore we are in the process of moving decisively towards our state, an objective that we consider close."
He condemned recent fighting between sympathisers of his secular party Fatah and Islamist rivals Hamas, in which around 150 Palestinians have been killed in various outbreaks of violence since mid-December.
The factional clashes have left the Palestinians "on the verge of a civil war" and "tarnished our image", Abbas said. "I am aware that the danger of the internal fighting is equal to, if not greater, than that of the occupation." Abbas said he was working towards an Israeli-Palestinian truce and again criticised "totally futile" rocket attacks on Israel, which he said "give the Israeli army a pretext to launch attacks in the Gaza Strip".
Accusing the Israelis of trying to limit the agenda of a meeting this week with Prime Minister Olmert, he said he would highlight Palestinian concerns over Israel's separation barrier, and settlement building. "I will insist on opening a channel of negotiations so that we do not remain prisoners of violence," he added.Agencies
Palestinians are holding demonstrations to protest at the continued occupation of Arab land captured by Israel in the six-day war of June 1967.
"June 1967 went down in the Middle East and world history as a massive defeat inflicted by Israel on the Arabs," the Palestinian president declared in a televised speech.
"Despite all the difficulties, however, our revolt was equal to this defeat, the memory of which we hope will be erased by ending the occupation of Arab and Palestinian territory and by establishing our independent state."
Abbas said he still nurtured hope of seeing an independent Palestinian state despite a current stalemate in the peace process.
"The whole world agrees in unanimity that the birth of a Palestinian state is an inevitability and a fundamental element for regional and international stability."
In 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the Gaza Strip and Sinai peninsula from Egypt — an area more than three times bigger than the state of Israel at the time.
"Our people and our nation paid a big price for this heavy defeat," said Abbas, calling the war a "black date".
"We can say in total confidence that we have overcome defeat through revolt and therefore we are in the process of moving decisively towards our state, an objective that we consider close."
He condemned recent fighting between sympathisers of his secular party Fatah and Islamist rivals Hamas, in which around 150 Palestinians have been killed in various outbreaks of violence since mid-December.
The factional clashes have left the Palestinians "on the verge of a civil war" and "tarnished our image", Abbas said. "I am aware that the danger of the internal fighting is equal to, if not greater, than that of the occupation." Abbas said he was working towards an Israeli-Palestinian truce and again criticised "totally futile" rocket attacks on Israel, which he said "give the Israeli army a pretext to launch attacks in the Gaza Strip".
Accusing the Israelis of trying to limit the agenda of a meeting this week with Prime Minister Olmert, he said he would highlight Palestinian concerns over Israel's separation barrier, and settlement building. "I will insist on opening a channel of negotiations so that we do not remain prisoners of violence," he added.Agencies
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