ADDIS ABABA, February 15, 2025 – President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas reiterated today his absolute rejection of any calls aimed at displacing the Palestinian people from their homeland, which would keep the region in a cycle of violence, rather than advance peace.

He  said in his speech before the 38th African Summit, held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, that "whoever believes that he can impose a new deal of the century, or displace our Palestinian people and seize any inch of our land, is delusional."

The President added that the calls to displace the Palestinian people from their land seek to distract the world from war crimes, genocide and destruction in Gaza, colonial crimes and attempts to annex the West Bank.

The President stressed that the only place to which the "one and a half million refugees living in Gaza should return is their cities and villages from which they were displaced in 1948, in implementation of UN Resolution 194."

He also stressed that the Israeli colonial practices demand urgent measures from the international community and the UN Security Council before the spread of extremist forces that are working to bury the two-state solution.

The President affirmed, "Our commitment to international legitimacy and signed agreements requires ending the Israeli occupation and implementing UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and [fulfilling] the Arab Peace Initiative, so that all peoples of the region can live in security, peace, and good neighborliness."

He  stressed that achieving international security and stability requires all to engage fully in the global coalition to implement the two-state solution,  support the international peace conference scheduled  at the United Nations in mid-June, mobilize international energies for international recognition of the State of Palestine, obtain full membership in the United Nations, and implement the two-state solution based on international legitimacy.

The President called on the African Union countries to participate in the Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions scheduled for next March.

He further expressed his appreciation for the positions of all countries that rejected calls to displace the Palestinians from their homeland, and stood by their right to their land. He also thanked the African Union and its member states for their steadfast support for our people's struggle to achieve their freedom and independence.