Abbas Calls For Urgent Meeting To Discuss Obama’s Speech

20.05.11 - 15:02

By Saed Bannoura - Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, called on Thursday evening for an urgent meeting between Palestinian political leaders, and for consultations with Arab leaders, to discuss the speech of U.S. President, Barack Obama. Dr. Saeb Erekat, member of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), stated during a press conference in Ramallah on Thursday evening, that President Abbas affirmed the Palestinian commitment to their obligations as stated in all signed deals, the Road Map Peace Plan and the Arab Peace Initiative. “We hope that the Israeli government will fulfill its international obligations too”, Dr. Erekat said, “We hope Israel will implement its obligations under the Road Map and the Arab peace Initiative, this would give the peace process a push forward”. He further stated that Abbas appreciates the efforts of Obama to resume Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, and to achieve a final status agreement in a set timeframe. “Abbas appreciates Obama’s statements regarding self-determination, the right to live in freedom and dignity, the right to the freedom of worship”, the Palestinian official stated, “The Palestinian people seek liberation and justice”. It is worth mentioning that several Hamas political leaders in the Gaza Strip denounced the speech of Obama describing it as being biased towards Israel. The movement also denounced Obama’s demands to the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. During his speech, Obama's called for the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state in the occupied Palestinian territories, and called for a limited land swap so that Israel can keep its larger settlement blocs in the occupied territories. The U.S. President also said that the Palestinians and the Israelis need peace more than ever amidst the current changes in the region. Yet, he slammed what he called “the efforts to delegitimize Israel” in the United Nations this coming September, and added that “such acts will not grant independence to the Palestinians while they continue to deny Israel’s right to exist”. Obama further stated that the current technological advances make it more difficult for Israel to defend itself, and that “Israel’s dream of a Jewish state cannot be achieved through occupation”. Obama did not mention numerous UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, Tel Aviv totally ignores, as they call for Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories, including from occupied East Jerusalem. He also failed to recognize that, under international law, the Palestinian refugees have the right to return to their homeland.

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