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Several thousand Palestinians gathered Sunday in the West Bank city of Ramallah to commemorate the third anniversary of the death of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. (Photo: Flash90)
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| By Israel Insider staff November 11, 2007 |
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Several thousand Palestinians gathered Sunday in the West Bank city of Ramallah to commemorate the third anniversary of the death of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas addressed the crowd in a powerful and critical speech, condemning rival Hamas and calling the upcoming Annapolis summit an "historic opportunity."
"We see this conference as a historic opportunity to open a new page in the history of the Middle East based on the establishment of our independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," stated Abbas.
Abbas censured Hamas, saying, "These forces of darkness will not be able to hijack our history or close the windows to our future."
"There are those who stabbed our democracy and preferred the military coup to the path of national dialogue," said Abbas. He added: "Hamas cannot erase Arafat's achievements."
During his speech, Abbas also criticized Israel, referring to the security barrier as an "ugly separation apartheid wall," and calling for the removal of all Israeli settlements and checkpoints in Judea and Samaria.
Abbas referred to the removal of these -- the security barrier, West Bank settlements, outposts and checkpoints -- as well as a "just solution" to the Palestinian refugee issue, as "our national principles."
Abbas also stated that the Palestinians require, in addition to statehood, a return of lands obtained by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War, and peace with the Israelis and the peoples of this region."
On Saturday Abbas unveiled a mausoleum constructed over the grave of Yasser Arafat. The mausoleum was built in a way to convey that the grave site is temporary, as the hope is that the grave will one day be moved to Jerusalem.
"We will continue on the path of the martyred President Yasser Arafat to be reburied in Jerusalem, which he loved... Jerusalem, which he tried to make, and which all our people are trying to make, the capital of the Palestinian state," Abbas said.
Arafat died on November 11, 2004 in a hospital in France. The causes of his death are debated. |
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