World must change the way it deals with Israel, says Palestinian president

It is time for the international community to change the way it deals with the Israeli occupation, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday, adding that governments must “move from condemning and denouncing the Israeli violations against the Palestinian people and lands, to taking tangible steps.”

“It is not reasonable or acceptable for the occupation to remain choking us forever, and it is not reasonable for us to remain committed to agreements that Israel does not abide by,” Abbas said during an event to mark the 17th anniversary of the assassination of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

Abbas pointed out that the Palestinian cause was going through a “very delicate stage, perhaps the most difficult in our history of struggle.”

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“On this painful anniversary, we renew our adherence to the unity of our people and the call to form a government of national unity, in which all participating factions are committed to international legitimacy,” Abbas was quoted by Wafa as saying.

The Palestinian leader called for an “international conference to end the occupation, force recognition of the Palestinian state for countries who did not, and to prevent the financing of Israeli weapons that kill children and innocents.”

“The occupation will end, and we will achieve freedom and independence in our sovereign Palestinian state on our national soil,” Abbas stressed.