Palestinian President Says Arab Initiative “Last Chance” for Peace

Text of report in English by Palestinian Ma’an News Agency website

["Abbas Warns Israel: Arab Peace Initiative Is Last Chance To Live in Peace" - Ma'an headline]

Bethlehem -Ma’an -Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said on Tuesday [27 March] that the Arab Peace Initiative is Israel’s last chance to live in peace.

Abbas warned of the dangerous consequences of the continuation of the embargo on the Palestinian people.

Upon his arrival in Riyadh, to attend the Arab Summit, Abbas said “the initiative simply asks the Israelis to leave the occupied territories and then they will live in peace from Mauritania in the West to Indonesia in the East.”

President Abbas excluded the possibility of having another opportunity similar to this initiative; in fact he said this is the most significant initiative since 1948 to solve the problem of the Israeli occupation, because it offers solutions for all parties which seek a just settlement.

He added “I call on the United States to accept this [the Palestinian] government as it was the Palestinian people’s choice. The Palestinians have suffered one year of isolation and they cannot afford to suffer one more year.”

He expressed his concerns regarding the possibility the world refuses to deal with the Palestinian government, stating that the consequences will be dangerous not only for the Palestinians, but for the whole region.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Middle East. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.