PA President Abbas says peace, tolerance cannot coexist with occupation

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stressed on Wednesday his country’s efforts to get rid of the Israeli occupation and settlements and stop its devastating aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Speaking at the Third Asian Cooperation Dialogue Summit (ACD) in Doha, Qatar, Abbas said despite all the difficulties created by the Israeli occupation, Palestinian athletes continue with perseverance and steadfastness to achieve accomplishments and that the State of Palestine embodies sports diplomacy, through its participation in all international sports forums, where athletes carry the cause of their steadfast people who insist on life.

“This summit is being held while the region is facing great dangers due to the Israeli occupation’s insistence on the approach of aggression and violence, as thePalestinian people, including their athletes, as well as the brotherly Lebanese people are being subjected to a brutal Israeli war, which has claimed the lives of thousands of children, women and the elderly,” said Abbas, pointing out that the ongoing Israeli aggression has destroyed more than 90 per cent of the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including sports facilities and installations.​​

He stressed that peace and tolerance cannot coexist with occupation, a war of extermination, racial discrimination, ethnic cleansing, oppression, injustice, preventing the Palestinian people from achieving their aspirations for freedom and independence and aggression against the brotherly Lebanese people, calling on the international community to intervene immediately to stop the brutal aggression against Palestine and Lebanon.

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