We need international support so that our people live a life of normality, of dignity, of liberty and freedom. I hope that our cry for freedom may be heard. – Mahmoud Abbas
The time has come to end the suffering and the plight of millions of Palestine refugees in the homeland and the Diaspora, to end their displacement and to realize their rights, some of them forced to take refuge more than once in different places of the world. – Mahmoud Abbas
The core issue here is that the Israeli government refuses to commit to terms of reference for the negotiations that are based on international law and United Nations resolutions, and that it frantically continues to intensify building of settlements on the territory of the State of Palestine. – Mahmoud Abbas
We have accepted the principle of democracy and we are committed to respect the popular verdict and the result of that national consultation. – Mahmoud Abbas
We always have hoped that American diplomacy deploys itself in dialogue and persuasion rather than by ultimatums. That is the path we want in international relations. – Mahmoud Abbas
There is a requirement to ensure the withdrawal takes place in a civilized manner. We will be able to show the world we deserve independence and freedom. – Mahmoud Abbas
The PLO and the Palestinian people adhere to the renouncement of violence and rejection and condemning of terrorism in all its forms, especially State terrorism, and adhere to all agreements signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel. – Mahmoud Abbas
It is high time that the Palestinian people restore their freedom and independence. It is high time that the decades, the long decades of suffering and pain would stop. – Mahmoud Abbas
We have agreed with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to cease all acts of violence against the Israelis and against the Palestinians wherever they are. Tranquility and quiet that will be witnessed and in our land, starting today, is the beginning for a new era. – Mahmoud Abbas
I say: The time has come for my courageous and proud people, after decades of displacement and colonial occupation and ceaseless suffering, to live like other peoples of the earth, free in a sovereign and independent homeland. – Mahmoud Abbas
And also I assert our interest in respecting all our obligations and implementing all our commitments. And will save no effort whatever to protect this newborn opportunity of peace, that is provided through what we have already declared here today. – Mahmoud Abbas
Here, I declare that the Palestine Liberation Organization is ready to return immediately to the negotiating table on the basis of the adopted terms of reference based on international legitimacy and a complete cessation of settlement activities. – Mahmoud Abbas
Israel reoccupied the cities of the West Bank by a unilateral action, and reestablished the civil and military occupation by a unilateral action, and it is the one that determines whether or not a Palestinian citizen has the right to reside in any part of the Palestinian Territory. – Mahmoud Abbas
We differ on several issues. And this may include settlement, the release of prisoners, the wall closing institutions in Jerusalem. – Mahmoud Abbas
Our efforts are not aimed at isolating Israel or de-legitimizing it; rather we want to gain legitimacy for the cause of the people of Palestine. We only aim to de-legitimize the settlement activities and the occupation and apartheid and the logic of ruthless force, and we believe that all the countries of the world stand with us in this regard. – Mahmoud Abbas
We cannot build a viable state with a country that is disintegrating into small pieces. – Mahmoud Abbas
No state on earth can afford to allow several authorities to co-exist next to one another. – Mahmoud Abbas
We expect President Bush to implement his own vision of a two-state solution, the birth of the Palestinian State and the ending of the occupation that started in 1967. – Mahmoud Abbas
Let us all pledge to protect this opportunity in order to see that the wish of peace becomes a true and daily fact in this region. – Mahmoud Abbas
We have one authority and one law and everyone has the responsibility to follow that law and that authority. – Mahmoud Abbas
I can certainly put myself in Israel’s shoes. They are humans just like we are. They want peace and security inside their borders. – Mahmoud Abbas
