Arafat celebrated five years after death
More than 13,000 Palestinians gathered in Ramallah on Wednesday to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
Large crowds packed into the Presidential Compound to hear a memorial from President Mahmoud Abbas, who donned a white ball cap emblazoned with the flag of Palestine and a black and white kuffeyeh as he addressed the crowd for what many anticipated to be a historic speech. Rumors spread before the event that Abbas would announce his resignation, precipitating the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority...
... Addressing allegations of repeatedly bowing to US pressure, Abbas said "We have paid a heavy toll to protect our independence in decision making, and to promote the PLO, and we will never allow anybody to destroy our achievements," though he did not lay out a plan for the continuation of Palestinian achievements.
"Our revolution is the longest in history, and it might be the last revolution in the world. We want to get rid of occupation, and we want a just solution for refugees' problem in accordance with the UN resolution 194. As long as 1967 territories are occupied, we have the right to demand removal of settlements because they are illegal," he said.
Read entire article at The American Task Force on Palestine
Large crowds packed into the Presidential Compound to hear a memorial from President Mahmoud Abbas, who donned a white ball cap emblazoned with the flag of Palestine and a black and white kuffeyeh as he addressed the crowd for what many anticipated to be a historic speech. Rumors spread before the event that Abbas would announce his resignation, precipitating the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority...
... Addressing allegations of repeatedly bowing to US pressure, Abbas said "We have paid a heavy toll to protect our independence in decision making, and to promote the PLO, and we will never allow anybody to destroy our achievements," though he did not lay out a plan for the continuation of Palestinian achievements.
"Our revolution is the longest in history, and it might be the last revolution in the world. We want to get rid of occupation, and we want a just solution for refugees' problem in accordance with the UN resolution 194. As long as 1967 territories are occupied, we have the right to demand removal of settlements because they are illegal," he said.