Abbas received as a hero on his return from UN
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Xinhua, September 26, 2011
Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas was warmly received as a hero in the West Bank city of Ramallah on his return from the United Nations after delivering a historic speech and submitting a request for a full membership of a Palestinian state to the UN Security Council.
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Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas waves to supporters upon his arrival in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on Sept 25, 2011. Abbas returned from New York after he participated in the United Nations General Assembly and requested the statehood recognition. He said on Sunday that the "diplomatic march" to obtain international recognition of a Palestinian state has started. [Photo:Xinhua] |
Thousands of Abbas' fans, waving Palestinian flags and holding his pictures, gathered in the streets and outside his headquarters in the city, waiting for his arrival. They also chanted slogans in support of Abbas, such as "the People want to declare independence."
Abbas flew from the United States to Jordan right after he addressed the UN General Assembly on Friday. The speech was made shortly after he met with UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon and handed the latter the bid for a full membership of a Palestinian statehood to be submitted to the Security Council.
International diplomats and senior Palestinian officials said the Security Council would debate the Palestinian bid for a full membership of state on Monday afternoon. However, it wasn't clear the council would present the bid, which is strongly opposed by the United States, for voting.
Before Abbas' arrival, Nabil Shaath, member of the central committee of Abbas' Fatah Party told reporters that the Palestinians "won't regret or retreat their request for a full membership of a statehood." He expected that nine members in the Security Council out of 15 would vote in favor of the bid.
"No one would be able to force us to retreat or regret in order to save Barack Obama and protect him from embarrassment. He prefers to yield to the Zionist Lobby's pressure, but he will loose the entire Arab region's support," said Shaath, adding that "the Palestinians won't save Obama on the expense of our cause."
Right after Abbas arrived in Ramallah, he places a garland of flowers on the tomb of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, as thousands of Abbas' supporters waved flags, carried pictures of him and chanted slogans in support for him and for the UN bid.
Surrounded by his bodyguards, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and his prime minister Salam Fayyad, Abbas spoke to the crowds, saying that "rise your heads, you must be so proud because you are Palestinians."
"I went to the UN carrying your hopes, dreams, ambitions, pain, your vision of the future and your bad need for an independent Palestinian state. I believe that the free world has received your history, your pain, your struggle and your aspirations with honor and respect," Abbas told the crowds.
He also said that he told the world "the Palestinian spring is still there. A popular and peaceful resisting spring to achieve our goals ... We are realistic and we say that our diplomatic, global and international procession has begun and the road is still too long."
Abbas also said he reiterated at the UN General Assembly that " we want to gain our rights peacefully and by all peaceful means and by negotiations, but not by any negotiations. We want negotiations with a complete cessation of settlement."
Abbas, 76, who succeeded Arafat as the PNA President in 2005, said "there is no doubt that we are so strong, strong with our rights and our determination through our eye, minds and cultures, so I tell you rise up your heads, you are Palestinians."
Meanwhile, Mohamed Awad, a deputy to the deposed prime minister of Hamas de facto government Ismail Haneya said during a workshop organized by Hamas' ministry of information that Abbas speech "was like an important and historic document in the UN."
However, Awad, who is also Hamas' minister of foreign affairs, blamed Abbas for not coordinating the decision of heading to the UN with other Palestinian powers and factions "referring to his movement."
Hamas opposed the Palestinian bid to the UN for a statehood, saying that the step would be a negligence of the basic rights of the Palestinian people, mainly the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Hamas leaders slammed Abbas' speech to the UN and said "it was empty of content and full of contradictions."
However, Mohamed Ishteya, a Palestinian negotiator said senior officials will visit Nigeria and Gabon to persuade the two members of the UN Security Council to support the Palestinian bid for the world body's membership. The U.S. presses on the two African states not to vote for the Palestinian request.
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