Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gave blunt message on Saturday in opposition to any attempt to drive Palestinian people from their country. Speaking at the 38th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia on Saturday, Abbas denounced attempts to drive through new political agenda in the region by reasserting Palestinian people’s unshakeable attachment to their country.
“Everyone who thinks that he or she has power to drive through new ‘Deal of the Century’ or drive Palestinian people from their country is in illusion,” declared Abbas to thunder in corridors of the summit in response to soaring fears of proposals that would sacrifice Palestinian sovereignty and Palestinian people’s rights to Jewish settlements in their country.
Abbas reiterated that requests for driving Palestinian people from their country aren’t only inhuman but actually distract people’s attentions from humanitarian situation in Gaza to further Jewish settlements in the West Bank. “These requests only distract people’s attentions from their aggression in committing war crimes in Gaza in their crime of expanding their settlements and their attempt to annex the West Bank,” he declared firmly.
The Palestinian leader underscored the importance of adhering to international law, particularly United Nations Resolution 194, which guarantees the right of return for Palestinian refugees. “The only place where the 1.5 million refugees living in Gaza should return to is their cities and villages from which they were displaced in 1948,” Abbas stated, reaffirming the Palestinian people’s historical and legal claim to their land.
Abbas also expressed deep concern over the rise of extremist forces that threaten to derail the two-state solution, a framework long supported by the international community. “Israeli colonial practices require urgent action from the international community and the UN Security Council to prevent the rise of extremist forces that seek to bury the two-state solution,” he warned. There is an overwhelming need for global action to ameliorate the increasing tensions and establish a proper, lasting peace in the region.
International Support
He took the amazing opportunity at the African Union Summit to solicit international support for the Palestinian cause. Many African leaders echoed his sentiments, as they have always stood in solidarity with Palestine. It was a West African summit of representatives across the continent to remind people of the shared struggles against colonialism and oppression.
Abbas comes at a very critical moment that speaks to the Palestinian leadership capturing the complex internal divisions and the external pressures. Perhaps more important, his unyielding stance on the right of return and the rejection of displacement strongly mirror the lofty aspirations of the Palestinian people, who remain adamant in their claims for self-determination and justice.
The plea for action from Abbas demonstrates to the international community that resolving the Middle East conflict requires urgent identification and resolution of foundational reasons behind the crisis. At the African Union Summit he emphasized two key messages by showing Palestinian strength along with the necessity of worldwide joint action during hard times.
The uncertain region received clarity from Abbas through his declaration that Palestinian individuals would never become homeless and their human rights would persist. He emphasized that peace can be achieved by maintaining worldwide regulations which need to be accompanied by military withdrawal from Palestine and complete fairness for the Palestinian people.
