People's Democracy

  The Palestinian Liberation Organisation

Greetings Comrades, It gives me, and the accompanying delegation, great pleasure to convey to you our Palestine Liberation Organisation PLO's, as representative of the Palestinian people, and its leadership’s warm greetings. We would like also to thank you for inviting us to take part in your congress wishing you all the success in serving the friendly Indian people.

It is a good chance to express and stress our deep thanks for your Party’s fundamental support to our people to achieve its inalienable national rights to end the occupation, and to self-determination through establishing the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

During the last few months, our region witnessed great events manifested in the passing away of our leader president Arafat and the smooth transfer of power through democratic elections, where our people elected Mahmoud Abbas as president, while our people continue their peaceful struggle to resist the Israeli occupation and its measures aiming at confiscating more lands and impeding all regional and international efforts to achieve peace based on international legitimacy.

With the escalation of attacks in Iraq and the region in general, Israel practices the same systematic policy of siege, closure as well as land confiscation of our land to enlarge the Jewish settlements build on the occupied Palestinian land. It also confiscates additional Palestinian lands to build the Israeli Apartheid racial separation wall. These Israeli measures are taken in spite of our decision to adhere to calm and truce.

Peace is our strategic option, we accepted the road map as a peace plan presented by the international community through the Quartet (USA, EU, Russia and the UN) that stipulates ending the Israeli occupation, and reaching a two-state solution: Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.

We are committed to this, but existence of the Israeli occupation hinders and obstructs proceeding forward to achieve a solution that guarantees justice, security and cooperation.

Shram-e-sheik summit was held, in Egypt, on February 8, 2005, which was attended by the Palestinian president and the Israeli prime minister, in addition to King of Jordan, and the Egyptian president, in which understanding was reached, but Israel still procrastinates in implementing that understanding, imposing a de facto position on the ground through encircling and besieging Jerusalem with more settlement units that isolate the city from its surrounding. Furthermore, it prevents the natural geographic contiguity between the north and south of the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli unilateral disengagement plan from Gaza must not be on the account of consolidating and condensing the occupation in the West Bank.

We call on the international community to immediately interfere to put the negotiations back on track as a basis for the solution and to stop any unilateral action, which will finally lead to escalating tension and mistrust.

The Palestinian issue was and still is the core of the international agenda for peace, and it needs a final settlement that achieves international legitimacy and justice. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and its Palestinian National Authority, renew commitment to negotiation as the only way to reach a solution based on ending the occupation, establishing independent Palestinian state, achieving understanding and cooperation in our region and the entire world.

On behalf of PLO’s delegation, I wish your congress all the success and I take this opportunity to renew our appreciation and thanks to the Indian government, people and parties for their firm stand in supporting the Palestinian people and the peace process in the Middle East.